I arrived at Sadie’s at a little after noon to find the ladies—including Marie—sitting around the dining table eating chicken salad sandwiches.
“Come and eat, Rose,” Sadie urged me. “Take a plate from the sideboard there and sit with us.”
“I thank thee.” My breakfast of a poached egg on toast had been hours ago. “How fares thy mother, Marie?”
“She is a shadow of herself and spends a great deal of time sleeping, I’m afraid, but I thank you for inquiring.” Her smile was a sad one. “My sister has arrived to help me take care of her.”
“I am glad thee has assistance and solace,” I said.
“Where is thy husband?” Drusilla asked me.
“He had to return home in a hurry,” I replied. “He received a telegram early this morning saying his mother Clarinda had taken gravely ill.”
Sadie placed her hand on her heart. “My goodness. Shall we pray for her?”
Marie drew out a rosary and began fingering the beads, praying silently. We Quakers closed our eyes and also prayed without speaking. I held David’s mother in God’s Light, that she might heal quickly and easily. I’d also held Clarinda in the Light for some minutes this morning after David had departed. I opened my eyes when I heard the rustling of movement and a clink of silverware.
“Here, Rose.” Sadie passed me the plate of sandwiches.
“I thank thee.” I helped myself and took a bite. “My, this is good,” I told my hostess. “Thy mayonnaise is extra creamy, and the bits of celery add a nice crunch.”
She smiled. “What has thee been up to today?”
I gazed around at the curious faces of these womenfolk. What a blessing their company was. “One thing I did this morning was stop by the tag factory. It’s an interesting industry.”
“Indeed,” Dru said. “Annie Boyce is quite the businesswoman.”
“Was the call part of thy investigation?” Sadie asked me.
“Possibly.”
“That Hazel girl works there,” Dru said. “She’s a shifty one.”
Shifty? “What does thee mean, Aunt Dru?”
“She’s like a spider,” Dru said. “Excellent at spinning stories and webs.”
“My sister means the girl is a habitual liar.” Tilly’s voice was so subdued as to be barely audible. She’d only nibbled at the edges of her sandwich. “She has fibbed to our faces about losing library books.”
Dru nodded her head so energetically her hairpins nearly flew out. “Yes, while we know full well she set the novels on her bookshelf and never gave a thought to returning them.”
I was pretty sure Hazel had lied to me when she’d said Brigid might have done Frannie harm. What other untruths was she telling? And if she was constantly on laudanum, as Brigid had claimed, would she even realize she was lying?
Tilly turned her plate clockwise a quarter turn but didn’t eat.
I peered at her. “Aunt Tilly, is thee all right?”
She lifted her face, her eyes as haunted as they’d been on First Day. “We need to bury our girl, Rose. They only now told me I could have her back.”
My throat thickened. Interring a granddaughter wasn’t the way life was supposed to go. The younger generation should be tending to their elders’ deaths, not the reverse. Tilly had already lost her daughter and wouldn’t have been able to mourn for her in public.
“I’m helping arrange the Memorial Meeting for Worship for Sixth Day,” Sadie said. “But the grave will be dug later this afternoon. We’ll gather at sunset to bid Frannie farewell.”
Marie frowned. “Aren’t you doing things in reverse? Don’t you usually have the funeral and then the burial?”
“No,” I began. “As we don’t believe in embalming, we need to bury the . . .” I caught myself before saying “body,” which would be too harsh a word for Tilly to hear. “To bury the deceased as soon as possible. And the Memorial Meeting is much like our regular Meeting for Worship, except it focuses on the person who has gone on ahead. Typically a coffin is not present.”
“I see,” Marie murmured. “It’s a different way of proceeding than I’m accustomed to, but I suppose it doesn’t really matter.”
I opened my mouth to ask Marie how her talk with Edwin had gone when she went to tell him about the splash. I shut it again. We didn’t need to bring up the topic during a meal in front of Tilly. She was in enough pain as it was.
“Thy interlude with David has been interrupted, Rose,” Sadie said. “Will thee return to Amesbury soon, as well?”
“I’m not sure. I offered to go with him to provide wifely support, but he wanted me to stay here and continue my investigations. And now, with Frannie’s Memorial Meeting on Sixth Day, I certainly won’t leave before that happens.”
“Good,” Dru said. “Thee is a comfort to us here.”
“My father asked if he should make his way to West Falmouth. I sent him a reply he would be welcome, and that was before I knew about the service.”
Dru batted a hand. “I mailed him a note not an hour ago, too. We received a lovely letter of condolence from him this morning, in which he asked if we’d appreciate his presence.”
“Rose, rest assured I’ll continue to watch over these ladies here at the house, and thy father, too, whenever he arrives,” Sadie said. “Thee doesn’t need to worry about them. Concentrate instead on discovering the truth. But do know thee is always welcome to sup with us.”
“I appreciate the offer, Sadie, and I thank thee for the repast.” What a jewel Sadie was. I patted my mouth with the napkin. “Now I need to go to Falmouth to find David’s brother. My husband commissioned me to let Currie know their mother is ill.” I surveyed the caring faces around the table. “Currie and his mother had been estranged until immediately after David and I married last Seventh Day, when Currie appeared at our reception. David had urged him to stay in Newburyport and mend fences, but we saw him in Falmouth on Second Day. He didn’t remain long with his parents.”
“And Mr. Dodge isn’t sure his brother will go to their mother?” Marie asked.
“Precisely,” I said. “I’m to do my best to convince him.”
“Every family has its black sheep as well as skeletons in the closet.” Dru shook her head but sneaked a glance at her sister. Tilly didn’t seem to notice.
“Sadie, does thee have the train timetable at hand?” I asked.
“Why don’t I drive thee in my carriage?” Sadie asked. “The rain has stopped, and having a conveyance will make it easier and faster to search for the man.”
“It certainly will,” I said. “I thank thee, Sadie.”
“Our Miss Brooks could use an outing, too,” she added.
“Miss Brooks?” I asked. “Who’s that?”
Dru chortled. “She’s Sadie’s mare. Has thee heard of a sillier name for a horse?”
Sadie rolled her eyes with a fond expression on her face. “Miss Mary Brooks was Huldah’s nursemaid when he was young. He wasn’t raised as a Friend, you see, but enthusiastically became convinced in our faith before we married.”
I only smiled. Miss Brooks was a silly name, but not so different from Peaches, the dun-colored gelding David had insisted I use last winter, along with a loaned buggy.
“I’ll come along for the ride, if I may, now that my sister is here to spell me,” Marie said. She stood and began to collect the dishes.
“Of course,” Sadie said. “Our wagon buggy seats four comfortably, and I love to drive. Dru, will thee join us?”
“No, I’m back to the library for the afternoon,” Dru said.
“Very well. I’ll have my boy ready the horse now.” Sadie bustled away.
I went around to Tilly and laid my hand on her bony shoulder. “We’ll be back well before the burial, Aunt Tilly. Why doesn’t thee rest for the afternoon? It’s likely to be a difficult evening for thee.”
“I believe I shall, Rose. No period in my life has been harder to bear than the events of this week.”