Chapter Three

The aroma of crisply fried potatoes and onions danced around them as Finola brought platters of the promised potato cakes to the table. Slices of browned ham filled a white china bowl, accompanied by a side dish of cabbage and carrots. A golden brown pan of cornbread with melting butter sat steaming nearby. When Finola brought a fresh pot of hot tea, Timothy smiled with delight.

She took great pains to mix Liam’s cup with exactly half tea and half milk, then added two spoons of sugar.

“You gentlemen enjoy your supper,” she said. “I’ll be over here washing up if you need anything more.”

Timothy filled their plates with the plain, simple fare. It was just what they both needed. He couldn’t wait to start eating.

She frowned at Timothy. “Let’s not be forgetting our manners and thank the Lord for what ye have.”

Once grace was said and their napkins tucked into their laps, they began to eat. Satisfied, Finola returned to the sink. She persistently looked about, as if something were misplaced.

“How can I help you, Mrs. McNamara?” he asked at last. “Are you looking for something in particular?”

“Aye, I am. The water pump and the bucket for toting the water. When I washed up before, you had already filled the basin. I threw that water out back when I was finished, but I can’t seem to find the pump now,” she explained, her face a mass of frustration. “Would ye happen to know where they are, sir?”

Timothy suppressed a laugh. He set his teacup down and went to the sink. “Here, let me show you something, Mrs. McNamara.” With a deft move of his hand, he opened a compartment on the cook stove and pointed to a receptacle. “There is heated water for washing dishes and such.” He removed the container with a cooking mitt and carried it to the sink. After emptying the vessel, he returned it to the stove and pointed to a valve. “When you need more water, just turn this like so and it will fill up automatically. We have a separate heater for the baths upstairs. I’ll show you later.”

“Why, it’s fascinating, that’s what it is!” she cried, peering into the compartment. “I’ve never seen the like before in me life.”

“Just be careful with that contraption. People have suffered grave injuries.” He frowned with worry. “If you ever need help, just let me or Carmine know. Either one of us will be glad to lend a hand.”

“I surely will, sir, and thank you. Do lots of people have these?”

“Many, I would think. You didn’t have one in St. Louis, I take it?”

Her face reddened as she remembered the many days she had to heat bucket upon bucket of water in the large kettle out back of the saloon. She had to carry the huge bundles of sheets and the girls’ clothing down to wash them. Three times each week she had to endure the humiliation of cleaning up after their sins. How blessed she was to have escaped that life.

“No, I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s truly fascinating.” She took the cooking mitt from him.

“I guess it is,” he said. “Sometimes, we just take things for granted, don’t we?”

“I suppose so, but it would have to be a long time coming that I won’t appreciate having hot water whenever I need it.”

“Well, as night is coming on, I think I should show you how the lights work.” He motioned toward the lamps fixed to a nearby wall. “You’ll need to know this.”

He implemented the gas lighting system and as she watched, transfixed in awe, the kitchen blazed to life with a soft, warm glow. The miracle of it made her heart thump hard in her chest.

“I can’t believe it. This is a house of wonders, it is.” Her eyes shone in the soft light. “Here it’s bright as day and nigh on to six o’clock outside. I could work all night and never miss a thing.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Timothy laughed again at her childlike wonder. “But it will certainly make early mornings and evenings easier, won’t it?”

“Oh, yes sir. I can’t thank you enough, sir.”

“And here I was thinking the Adams were behind the times. Sometime next year, we’ll get electricity service and then everything will change. Have you ever seen electricity at work?” he asked.

“No sir, I don’t believe I know her,” she answered, her eyes round and guileless.

Unable to abate his laughter any longer, Timothy Adams looked at his son. The two of them dissolved into fits of giggles.

“And what’s so funny? Just because I don’t know this electricity person?”

Her protests only made them laugh louder until she returned to the sink and worked hard to ignore them both.

“Miss Finola?”

“Yes, Liam?” she asked, turning away so they couldn’t see the high spots of embarrassment on her cheeks.

“Your food was very good, but I think I’d like to rest now. Father, can Finola make sauerkraut tomorrow?” The child looked up hopefully at his father.

Sauerkraut? Finola only knew of it in passing, but if that was what the child wanted she would cook it for him. The look on Timothy’s face stopped her in her tracks. He was dead still, staring at his shoes.

“I don’t know, Liam. I’ll have to think about it,” he said at last.

“There’s plenty of it left in the basement,” Liam explained, taking his father’s hand. He turned to Finola. “My mother made it. She made it for me, and we ate it together all the time.”

“I see,” she answered, looking toward the child’s father for some sign of explanation. “I’ll have a look about it in the morning.”

“Okay. Father, could you read to me for a little while?”

Timothy nodded, and the two left her alone in the kitchen to tidy up. She watched them together, the weakened child gathered up into his father’s arms. Her heart ached for them both, but there was little she could do other than feed them and keep their home clean.

She washed each dish with gentle care, taking pains not to chip or crack one of them. It would not do to break one. Too much had been broken in this house already, she thought. With everything put away and the kitchen in good order, she went to her room to settle in for the night. She had experienced quite a day and her body was aching.

As she exchanged her clothes for her nightgown, she thought of all that had transpired that day. Elliott Horvay, the train, meeting Mr. Adams, the carriage ride, and the mercantile—it now seemed like a long forgotten dream. But here she was in the finest room she could have ever imagined occupying. She took down her dark hair and shook it loose as she leaned back onto her soft pillow. She said her prayers and thanked God for His merciful intervention before falling soundly asleep.

****

“Finola,” a voice called to her through her haze of sleep. “Wake up!”

“What? What is it?”

“Come quickly. It’s Liam. Something’s wrong with him.” Timothy Adams’ face was pale with fear in the lamplight. “He often has stomach aches, vomiting and running off, but this time it’s different. I don’t know what to do.”

She threw back the quilt and hurried behind him toward the child’s room. Liam sat up in bed, clutching his hand to his stomach.

“You’re feeling poorly, Master Liam?” she asked, feeling of his forehead for any sign of a fever.

He nodded.

Finola gently moved his hand and felt of his tummy. It was tight and hard.

“Liam, when was the last time you…” She looked at Timothy, who nodded. “When was the last time you…”

“Pooped?” he asked, supplying the word she needed.

“Yes, that. When was it?”

“About three days ago. It hurt, and I didn’t go very much.”

“That’s very unusual for him,” Timothy added. “Most of the time everything runs through him like hot water.”

“Well, I think we can put him right quickly enough. Lie back, there you go. I’ll just run down to the kitchen and be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail with something that will help.” She settled him back against the pillow and a length of her dark hair fell over her shoulder.

“Okay, Finola,” he said, touching the long cascade of dark brown hair with his small, pale hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me, too.” She smiled into his sad little face. “Now, sit tight. I’ll have you feeling better directly.”

She hurried down to the kitchen, barely aware that she was running about in only her nightdress and bare feet. Searching the cabinets, she finally located a small bottle of draught extract made to help relieve constipation. She stirred two spoonfuls of the elixir and two spoonfuls of sugar into a glass of water and returned upstairs.

Timothy had joined Liam in his bed, and the two of them were huddled up together. They were deep in conversation when Finola arrived.

“Here we go, Master Liam. This isn’t going to taste very good, I’m afraid, but it will do the trick and having you feeling better in no time.” She handed him the glass of murky liquid.

“It’s going to taste horribly bad?” he asked, his little brows knitted together.

“Not as bad as a mud pie, but not as good as candy. Somewhere in between.”

Liam closed his eyes and brought the glass to his lips. With the courage of a child in desperation, he downed the concoction quickly. “Ick! You were right. It didn’t taste very good. Thank you for telling me the truth, though. You could have lied just to make me drink it.”

She sat down on the edge of the bed. “Yes, I could have lied to you, but then you would never trust in me or believe what I told you. I don’t believe in lying, even to children.” She smoothed his damp hair away from his forehead. “Now, since we both know what’s going to happen, I’m going to make a few preparations. I’ll have your father get a chamber pot ready.”

Liam dissolved into giggles. “Oh, Finola! We have a water closet right down the hallway. Didn’t you know?”

She felt her face burning in embarrassment. “Well, no, I didn’t know. And to think I’ve been holding it all day until I could find the outhouse.”

This confession sent Liam into full-blown shrieks of laughter. He fell over on his father, who also looked quite amused.

“I’m so glad you think my discomfort is so funny,” she exclaimed with mock ire. “I’ll just have me a look at this water closet and make sure it’s working properly before you need it.”

With that, she swooped out of the room and down the hallway, looking into empty rooms as she passed. The door to the first room on the right past the stairway stood open, and she peeked inside. It was the master bedroom. A huge cherry wood bed with a lace canopy had its quilt and linen sheets thrown back as if someone had exited in a hurry.

Even from where she stood in the doorway, she could see a soft, pink dressing gown lying on the pillow of the side of the bed that had not been slept in. Finola silently scolded herself for snooping. Mr. Adams’ bedroom was certainly none of her concern. In any case, her heart ached for the lonely man and child left so desolate in the wake of the woman’s death. Men needed a woman around. Rarely could one fend for himself.

She padded across the hall and found the water closet. Turning up the gas lamp as she had seen Mr. Adams do, she tidied up the area and made sure there were washing up supplies handy for little Liam. Closing the door, she used the facilities herself and felt a strange surge of happiness in knowing the “necessary” was just down the hallway.

What a life these people had, she marveled as she trotted back to her bedroom. They should be the happiest people on earth, instead of two of the saddest creatures she’d ever known. She pulled a worn dressing gown made of brown flannel from the drawer and tied it around her. The last thing she wanted was to be considered indecent as she went about her duties.

“Finola!” Liam’s frail voice carried into her room like the tiny call of a bird lost on the wind.

“I’m coming, darlin’,” she replied, hurrying to his room.

“Will you stay with Father and me for a little while?”

Timothy began to protest, “Liam, Mrs. McNamara is very tired. She traveled a long way on a train to come here. She needs her rest.”

“Oh, ’twas nothing but a big adventure, it was,” she said, settling in at Liam’s side. “It was the first time I’d ever been on a train, don’t you know. I had traveled to America from Ireland on a huge ship several years ago, but I had never been on a train. It was so exciting. I met a new friend on the train named Mary Louise. She was wearing a beautiful red dress and a matching red hat. She was a picture, I’ll tell you. She told me all about how she had been to London, England, and sang in a show there.”

“An actress?” Liam asked. “Was she beautiful?”

“Yes, she was. The most beautiful lady I’ve ever seen, and very smart, too. She had small books to read, and she let me borrow one for a little while. ‘Huckleberry Finn’ it was called. I didn’t get to finish it, so I may never know how it all ended up. But while I was reading it, the world seemed to slip away, just as if I were on a whole other train.”

The child was staring at her with captivated eyes. “I feel like that when I read, too. I love books.”

“Oh, that’s good. That means you’ll be a very smart man when you grow up, just like your father. I imagine he likes to read books, as well.”

They both turned to look at Timothy. His face seemed masked in a blur of relief for his son’s fondness of this new, strange woman and a fear of something that she could barely fathom.

“Yes,” he replied at last. “I like a good book.”

“See? There you have it, darlin’. You’ll be just as sharp as your da.”

Liam twined his tiny fingers through her hair. “That lady on the train, she couldn’t have been more beautiful than you, Finola.”

She gasped. “Ah! Aren’t you the sweet gentleman? I thank you for your kindness, but God blessed me richly with a strong body and a good heart. He saved the beauty for girls like Mary Louise Rankin.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Liam began to throw back bed sheets and wriggle out. “I gotta go,” he said and zoomed off toward the necessary.

“Well.” Finola chuckled. “That didn’t take long, did it?”

Timothy smiled. “Not long at all. I’ll take it from here, Mrs. McNamara. You get some rest. I have a feeling Liam will keep you quite busy tomorrow. He really likes you.”

“I’m happy for that. He’s a fine child, and you have a lot to be proud of, Mr. Adams. Just call me if you need me, sir. Good night.” She exited the room in a puff of worn flannel and dark, loose hair.

Timothy sighed heavily. Despite her protests, he had to agree with Liam. Finola was very beautiful.