Authors: Ellen Gable
Caroline urged,
“Please, sir, we must go quickly.”
“Of course,
Ma’am.”
In the sleigh,
she put the collar of the coat up and her hands in the pockets to keep warm.
In the right pocket, she felt a small paper. She took it out and held it close
to the lantern. It appeared to be a holy card with the picture of a man with a
beard. The writing was barely legible, and she had no patience at that moment
to care what it said. She slipped it back into the pocket.
Mr. Ferguson kept
the horses at a brisk pace, but within minutes, the animal hesitated. The
overturned wagon was covered by a generous dusting of snow.
“This is it.
Thank you, sir.”
Mr. Ferguson
assisted Caroline down from the sleigh and the two of them stood next to the
overturned carriage.
“I’ve returned,
David,” Caroline said, leaning into the carriage.
He roused enough
to mumble, “Caroline?”
“Yes.”
David moaned as
Mr. Ferguson lifted him out of the carriage and onto his sleigh while Caroline
followed behind.
“Let’s put this
blanket over him, Mrs. O’Donovan. It’ll keep him somewhat dry. I’m sorry I
don’t have a roof on my sleigh.”
“That’s fine.
Please hurry.”
“What about your
servant here?” Mr. Ferguson bent down and studied Kip’s snow-covered form under
the carriage.
“He’s gone,” she
responded. “But we need to take him home for a proper burial.”
“Mrs. O’Donovan,
I’m going to need your assistance while I lift the carriage up, perhaps you can
pull your servant’s body out from under it. Do you think you can manage with
your own injuries?”
Caroline cringed,
then nodded. “Yes, I think so.” Then to David, she whispered, “I need to
leave you here in the sleigh.”
He nodded.
She made her way
to the carriage and crouched down at Kip’s head. “What should I do?”
“When I lift the
carriage, you pull him out from under it.”
“Very well.”
Caroline first
brushed off the snow which had accumulated on Kip’s body, then gripped onto the
servant’s arms. Her eyes began to water. She had known Kip for many years and
had rarely touched him, other than when he occasionally offered his hand for
assistance.
“I’m going to
count, Mrs. O’Donovan, to three. On three, I’m going to raise the carriage and
then you pull your servant out as quickly as is possible.”
“Yes.”
“One, two,
three.” Mr. Ferguson hoisted the carriage about six inches. Caroline pulled as
hard as she could. She had never understood the term “dead weight” until now.
She knew Kip wasn’t a heavy man and yet it took all her effort to move him a
little bit at a time.
“Mrs. O’Donovan,
I’m going to have to put the carriage down. Can you manage?”
“Yes, I. .
.”
Just a few more inches
. She dragged him just beyond the carriage. She
breathed a sigh of relief and laid him down on the ground. “I did it!”
“Well done.” He
hurried to the sleigh, picked up a blanket and wrapped it around Kip.
Caroline pulled
herself onto the seat of the sleigh and gently placed David’s head onto her
lap. As she held onto her husband, he began moaning, “Caroline?”
“Yes, I’m here.
We were just getting Kip out from under the wagon.”
“Is Kip. . .all
right?”
“No, David,
remember I told you that he passed away? We’re taking his body back for
burial.”
David mumbled,
“Damn.”
The sleigh
vibrated with a thump as Jim laid Kip’s body over the horse. Kip didn’t deserve
to die.
How will I tell Jane?
Mr. Ferguson got
in and sat himself in the remaining small section of the front seat. “Sorry,
Ma’am, for the tight quarters. I mean no disrespect.”
“Not at all, Mr.
Ferguson. I’m thankful you’re able to help us.”
He shook the
reins and the sleigh moved forward. “I’m going take your husband to the
doctor. He’s only about two miles away. “Yes, please hurry.”
Jim pulled in
front of a small farmhouse, got out and knocked on the door. Immediately, an
older, heavyset man answered it.
Caroline couldn’t
hear the conversation, but watched the older man pull on his coat. They
approached the sleigh with a lantern.
“This is Dr.
Hailey, Mrs. O’Donovan. He will take care of your husband.”
“Yes, thank you,”
she replied. The two men lifted David from beside her and quickly took him
into the house. She followed them inside.
They hurried to a
small examining room. The men laid David on a table and took his coat off. In
the light of the house, Caroline drew in a sharp breath when she saw that the
side and back of David’s shirt was covered in blood.
“Jim, grab my bag
by the door, would you, please?”
“‘Course, Doc.”
“And would you
also get me some water from the well and heat it on the cookstove?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Mrs. O’Donovan,
please. Come and stand beside your husband.”
Caroline stood
next to the table and picked up David’s hand. He opened his eyes and winked at
her. “I’m going to be all right, Caroline.” Looking at her outer covering, he
said, “Nice coat.”
“It’s been
keeping me warm. I found it up the road.”
“You found it?”
“Yes.
Unfortunately, my dress was already quite wet.”
“Mrs. O’Donovan,
please feel free to remove your coat and sit by the fire. This will take but a
few moments.”
“Yes, thank you,
Doctor.”
The doctor took
off David’s shirt and examined the wound. “Looks pretty clean, not a lot of
dirt in there. I’m just going to wash it out and sew it shut, Mr. O’Donovan.
It’s deep but not deep enough to damage any organs in this area of the
stomach. You’ve lost a fair amount of blood.”
“Doctor?” David
asked.
“Yes, Mr.
O’Donovan?”
“Would you please
check my wife’s leg?”
“Certainly. I’ll
attend to that after I sew this up.”
After the doctor
had cleaned and bandaged her wound, Caroline was tucking David into one of Doc
Hailey’s spare beds and kissing him goodbye. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“I’m fine,
Caroline. You need to get back to the children. Perhaps Jim will take you.”
“But what about
Missy? I must make funeral arrangements for her.”
“Mrs. O’Donovan,
I would be happy to take you to the Sacred Heart Convent. I know where it is.
My sister, God rest her soul, used to live there.”
“But it’s
snowing, isn’t it, Mr. Ferguson?”
“Yes, Ma’am, it
is, but it’s only a light snow now and with my sleigh, we could probably make
it there in half an hour.”
“Yes, very well.”
“Mr. Ferguson,
would you mind taking my wife home once you’re finished there?”
“No, I would not
mind at all, Mr. O’Donovan. I’d be happy to oblige in any way I can.”
On the way to the
convent, they continued at a brisk pace. The sleigh easily plowed through the
snow, the frigid cold air stinging her face as they moved along. Thanks to the
good doctor, she now had a woolen scarf which she pulled up and around her
face. Soon they arrived at the convent. Caroline suddenly felt lightheaded.
At the door, a
short middle-aged nun with thin wireframe glasses greeted her and Mr.
Ferguson. “May I help you?” she asked, her voice sounding childlike despite
her age.
“Yes, we’re here
to discuss the funeral arrangements for Missy.”
“Are you Mr. and
Mrs. O’Donovan?”
“I’m Mrs.
O’Donovan. This is Mr. Ferguson.” Caroline stopped, unsure of how to introduce
him.
“I’m Mrs.
O’Donovan’s driver, Sister.”
“Yes, of course.
I’m Sister Helen Marie. Good evening to both of you. I wasn’t sure if anyone
would visit with the storm. Come, right this way.” The nun led them to a small
room off the foyer. “May I take your coats?”
“I’d rather keep
my coat on,” Mr. Ferguson said, as he sat on one of the chairs in the office.
“Well, I suppose
it would be all right if you took mine.” Caroline handed the diminutive nun her
large coat. The woman proceeded to hang it on a rack near the door. “My dress
is still damp. My husband and I were in an accident on our way here.”
“Oh, dear. How
dreadful. Are you both unharmed?”
“My husband was
injured and our servant died.”
“I’m so sorry.
God rest his soul.” She paused.
“Mrs. O’Donovan,
if you should like some dry clothing, our sisters have no need for clothing of
the world so we have many dresses in our textile room. You might be able to
find one that is your size, although it may be out of fashion.”
“That would be
kind of you. Perhaps I can do so after I’ve seen Missy.”
“Yes, very well.”
“We will send
notice to the undertaker near our home to come and retrieve Missy tomorrow,
Sister.”
“That’s fine.”
“Mr. Ferguson, I’ll
return momentarily.”
“Take your time,
Mrs. O’Donovan.”
The nun escorted
her down a long corridor with Caroline limping the entire way. “I’m sorry,
Mrs. O’Donovan. Are you able to walk?”
“Yes, I will be
fine.”
At the end of the
hallway was a plain white door.
“Are you certain
that you will be able to handle this, Mrs. O’Donovan? You have endured quite
an ordeal yourself.”
“Yes, yes, I
shall be fine.”
“Missy was a
wonderful young woman. She told me that you and your husband have taken her
child in as your own.”
Caroline forced a
smile but immediately felt awkward. She hoped that Missy hadn’t shared with
the good sister that David was the true father of Missy’s son.
Sister Helen
Marie opened the door. Immediately, Caroline was struck by the odor of death
and, for a moment, she felt nauseated.
She followed the
nun to a narrow bed at the far side of the room. It looked like Missy was
sleeping and a white sheet was pulled up to her chin. At the site of her gaunt,
gray face, Caroline stifled a gasp. Missy had lost more weight in the two
weeks since she had last visited her. Now, she seemed like a skeleton with
skin.
“I’ll wait
outside while you say your goodbyes.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Take as much
time as you would like, Mrs. O’Donovan.”
The nun closed
the door and Caroline let out a whimper. “Oh, Missy.” She leaned close and
brushed back a strand of her dark hair. Caroline touched the emaciated and cold
skin on her forehead. The expression on her face was a peaceful one. Caroline
made the Sign of the Cross. “May God have mercy on your soul.”
Don’t worry
about Will. We’ll take good care of him.
After she was
given a clean, dry dress, Caroline met the nun in the office. “Good evening,”
she said, as she went to the coat rack to retrieve her coat, which was nowhere
to be seen.
“Mr. Ferguson,
what has happened to the coat I was wearing?”
“Your coat, Mrs.
O’Donovan?”
“Yes. It’s not
here,” she said.
“I don’t know.
No one has been in here except for me and the good sister.”
“Mrs. O’Donovan,
I do remember hanging your coat on the rack,” the nun said. “I’m not sure what
happened to it.”
“Well, it wasn’t
actually my coat. I found it near Mr. Ferguson’s house.”
On the floor
below where the coat should have been was the holy card Caroline had discovered
in the pocket of the coat earlier. She picked it up. It showed the face of an
older man. Below the picture were the words, “St. Jude Thaddeus, pray for us.”
Caroline smiled and put the card in her skirt pocket.
“Like I told you,
I don’t have any close neighbors, so I don’t know how the coat got there,” Mr.
Ferguson offered.
“Well, it doesn’t
matter, Mrs. O’Donovan. I shall be back with a coat for you to wear home.”
“Thank you
kindly.”
Sitting on the
sleigh on the way home, Caroline stifled a sob at the enormity of it all: Kip’s
passing, Missy’s illness and death, their carriage accident. Her father had
been right. Death was indeed a natural part of life. She would never like it,
especially when it occurred so suddenly and so tragically. But she would have
to accept it as part of life’s inevitabilities.
“Are you all
right, Mrs. O’Donovan?”
“Yes, yes, I’ll
be fine. Just overwhelmed with everything that’s happened.”
Amidst the
sadness, Caroline found herself feeling hopeful.