The Brickmaker's Bride (16 page)

A
few days later, his uncle, aunt, and Kathleen were already seated at the breakfast table when Ewan entered the dining room. The moment he crossed the threshold and sat down, Aunt Margaret rang a small bronze dinner bell she positioned beside her water goblet during each meal. Adaira rushed from the kitchen and hurried to the buffet for the silver teapot his aunt now used at every meal.

Ewan gestured to his sister and pushed away from the table. “The last I looked, my arms and legs were still working just fine, Adaira. I can serve myself. You don’t need to wait on me.”

Aunt Margaret glowered at him. “She has assigned duties, Ewan. As do Rose and Ainslee. You can’t walk in here and change my orders. I run the household, and I want our meals served to us so the family becomes accustomed to formal dining.”

“The family? My sisters are as much your family as I am. I do not object to having them help with the household chores, but I’ll not have them treated different from anyone else in this house. Uncle Hugh has already said he plans to withhold money from my wages to pay for their room and board, so they should be doing less work than Kathleen, who is not paying anything
to live here.” He looked at Kathleen. “I’m sorry to bring you into this bit of disagreement, Kathleen, but I do not like what’s happening here.”

“Do I tell you how to run the brickyard?” His aunt’s scowl deepened. “Of course not. And you’ll not be telling me how to run my house.” She leaned forward and turned her frown on her husband. “Tell him, Hugh.”

“Oh, stop with your highfalutin ways, Maggie. We can all pour our own tea and fill our plates with rashers, eggs, and boxty. We do not need the girls rushing about carrying platters and serving us with that fine silver you bought. You’ve gone and started a bit of nonsense.” He leaned back and met his wife’s harsh stare. “You can quit giving me the evil eye, too. By now you should know it has no effect on me.”

Ainslee stepped into the dining room with a plate of boxty and curtsied as she offered the platter to her brother. “‘Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan; if you can’t make boxty, you’ll never get a man.’” She grinned at him. “You’ll have to taste my boxty and tell me if you think it’s good enough to get me a husband one day.”

He smiled and helped himself to several of the potato pancakes. “You’re too young to worry about getting a man, but I already know you make the best boxty in all of West Virginia.”

“Tell your sisters to come in here and join us for breakfast, Ainslee.” Uncle Hugh waved his fork toward the kitchen.

The girl glanced at her aunt, then looked at Ewan. She stepped from foot to foot, her misgivings evident. “Do as your uncle said. Go and tell your sisters to join us for breakfast.”

“Shall we leave Fia in the kitchen alone, then?”

Fia and Melva had been chosen for the two spaces in steerage on a ship sailing a few days after Ewan’s sisters had departed. The two had been selected because Margaret desired a cook and
a housemaid as soon as possible. No matter that the women had to sail without their families. If they desired a new life in America, they must do Margaret’s bidding.

“Aye. Fia’s being paid to do the cooking, so let her cook. There’s only four of us at the table. It does not take one person to cook for each of us, now does it?” Uncle Hugh forked a bite of eggs into his mouth while Ainslee scuttled into the kitchen and fetched her sisters.

Rose and Adaira came into the dining room. The kitchen’s heat had heightened the color in their cheeks, and Rose wiped some perspiration from her forehead with the corner of her apron. Uncle Hugh pointed his knife at the empty chairs. “Sit down, girls, and eat your fill. You do not need to work in the kitchen. I pay Fia to cook and Melva to clean, and with your aunt overseeing the two of them, that should be plenty of help.” When Margaret tried to object, he waved away her protests. “Ewan is right. He pays for their room and board. They aren’t here to serve you, Margaret.”

“Very well, but I don’t want to hear complaints if you’re unhappy with your meals or the house isn’t tidy. My time is better spent at the building site, making sure the men do their work. When I’m not there, they dawdle about and nothing gets done.”

Uncle Hugh sighed. “Those men are good workers, Margaret. If St. Peter himself stepped down from heaven to oversee the project, you’d still find fault.”

“There’s no need for your irreverent remarks, Hugh. Maybe if you’d check on them once in a while, you’d see what I’m talking about. From what I’m able to find out, you’re not spending your time at the brickyard, and you’re not overseeing the new house, so where are you all day?”

Ewan looked at his uncle from beneath hooded eyes. Ewan had questioned his uncle regarding his whereabouts on several
occasions, but each time Uncle Hugh had told him to tend to his own business. The man had made it explicitly clear: He didn’t want or need a guardian. Ewan wasn’t so sure that was true, and his uncle’s lack of involvement at the brickyard hadn’t helped to ease Ewan’s concerns.

“Taking care of the finances so we don’t sink any further into debt, which is proving to be no easy task, what with all the things you’ve been ordering for the new house. You don’t need to order all of those expensive frills before the foundation is even completed, Maggie.”

Rather than let Aunt Maggie buttonhole him, Uncle Hugh had manipulated the conversation to put his wife on the defensive.

“Mrs. Woodfield said that sometimes it takes a very long time to receive orders from the city, especially when the items have to be custom-made. I was only following her advice. We don’t want to end up with a brand-new house but no furniture or draperies.”

“You can hang bedsheets over the windows as far as I’m concerned. We got by all our lives without special-ordered furniture.” He pushed away from the table and gestured to Ewan. “Time we got down to the brickyard, don’t you think?”

Ewan nodded. The older man had deftly avoided his wife’s question and escaped out the door. His uncle winked as they descended the front steps. “And that, my boy, is how it’s done.” As if by some unexplained foreknowledge, Joe appeared with his uncle’s saddled horse and held the reins while Uncle Hugh mounted. He gathered the reins into his hand and tipped his hat. “Have a good day, Ewan. I’ll see you at supper.”

Joe, the groomsman his uncle had hired, stood beside Ewan and the two of them watched Hugh ride off. “You have any idea where he’s off to, Joe?”

The groomsman shook his head. “Naw, he don’t tell me noth
ing ’cept what time I’m supposed to have his horse ready for him each morning.” Joe nodded toward the barn. “I got the buggy ready for you. Didn’t think you’d be leaving quite this early or I would have brought it from the barn when I brought Mr. Hugh’s horse.”

“I’m in no big hurry, Joe. I’ll walk down to the barn with you.”

The two men walked in silence, Joe likely thinking about all the chores he needed to accomplish by day’s end, while Ewan thought about Mr. Bruce. On his original visit, the contractor had been pleased with their operation, but he wanted bricks that were a more uniform shade of red and said he’d return when Ewan could show him something more to his liking. Ewan hoped that would happen today. If the brickyard was going to support all of the men and their families, he needed to secure additional contracts. Though he had expected his uncle to be present when Mr. Bruce arrived, it didn’t appear that would happen. Once again, full responsibility would fall upon Ewan’s shoulders.

During the many weeks that followed, the entire family had undergone a number of changes. The other relatives had arrived from Ireland, and the men had already begun work. The three single men had taken up residence in local boardinghouses, while the married men and their families had settled in some of the vacant houses near Bartlett. Ewan’s uncle had arranged rental agreements for four houses, but he’d purchased three as well. He’d been clear with all of them: They would be paid wages for their work, but would pay rent and all of their living expenses. Each man also signed an agreement to reimburse Uncle Hugh for their passage, plus interest. For the single men, repayment would be easy, but it would be a burden for each married man with a wife and children.

Ewan had argued against requiring any of the men to pay interest on the money, but to no avail. His uncle was quick to point out that the bank required interest on loans and his relatives needed to know they could not take advantage of him. Ewan had laughed at the comment. No family member had ever succeeded in taking advantage of Uncle Hugh. There’d been a few who’d tried, but Uncle Hugh had always beaten them to the punch.

Before the girls had an opportunity to knock on the front door, Laura heard their laughter and hurried to the hallway. Since their arrival, the three girls had become almost daily visitors to Woodfield Manor. On one of their first visits, the twins had admired some of Mrs. Woodfield’s tatting, and she’d offered to give them lessons. Their attempts were heartfelt, but the girls hadn’t yet conquered the art.

“Good morning!” After opening the door, Laura ushered the threesome inside. “You’re a little earlier than usual.”

“We finished our breakfast early and Aunt Margaret said we could leave,” Adaira said as she removed her shuttle and thread from a small cloth bag and handed it to Mrs. Woodfield. “I’ve been practicing. I think my tatting is much better than Ainslee’s, but she doesn’t practice much.”

While Laura’s mother examined the tatting projects, Laura motioned Rose toward the porch. “It’s such a beautiful August morning. Why don’t we sit outside and visit while Mother helps the girls with their tatting.”

As long as the twins were busy with their handwork, they didn’t mind if Laura and Rose disappeared for a private chat. During their visits, Laura tried to provide a bit of respite for the older girl. Rose had become a mother figure to her young
sisters, and though she never exhibited an aversion to that role, she seemed to relish a bit of time away from the twins.

Instead of choosing the cushioned wicker furniture, the two of them settled beside each other on the porch swing, which had become their favorite visiting spot.

Using the toe of her shoe, Rose gave a slight push and set the swing in motion. “I thought you might be at the brickyard this morning. Ewan seems a wee bit anxious because a contractor is coming from Pittsburgh today.”

“Yes, Archibald Bruce is supposed to arrive early this afternoon. I told Ewan I’d come to the office after lunch.” Laura smiled at the girl. “There’s no reason for your brother to be concerned. I think Mr. Bruce is going to be very pleased with the bricks, and I’m sure he’ll sign a contract large enough to relieve Ewan’s worries over the brickyard.” Laura scooted back on the swing. “Once there are a few happy customers in Pittsburgh and Wheeling, word will quickly spread, and the men will be working overtime to keep up with the orders.” She patted Rose’s hand. “Just you wait and see.”

“I know Ewan is determined to make it a success, but sometimes it’s difficult when he doesn’t have the final say in things. I see how he worries when Aunt Margaret insists upon having some of the relatives working on her house instead of down at the yard.”

“How are your relatives adjusting to all of the changes here in America? Do they like it in West Virginia?”

“Uncle Darach says some of them are unhappy and have already gone to work at the coal mines. They can make more money there than Uncle Hugh will pay them.”

“Dear me, that isn’t good news.” Laura attempted to withhold her surprise, for Ewan hadn’t said a word to her. Perhaps he held out hope he could convince them to return, or that he
could convince Hugh to raise their pay. “I thought they all signed agreements with Hugh that they’d repay him.”

“They did, but they said they didn’t agree upon where they would work. They told Ewan they didn’t feel Uncle Hugh was being fair with them, and I think Ewan agrees. But he’s hoping the rest of them won’t quit any time soon. I know he’s thankful Aunt Margaret finally agreed they would use the first bricks they burned for her house. After she saw the deep red ones the man from Pittsburgh requested, she tried to convince Ewan to make all new deep red ones for her, but he refused.”