Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Madeline felt him staring at her as she looked up at the gorgeous sky. The moon’s rays seemed to shine right upon them, while tiny stars shimmered all over the dark sky. It painted shadows over the porch and when she looked beside her she caught Mr. Adams staring right at her.

He lowered his eyes as if he were looking for a place to set the tray, but she caught him in the act. Why did she feel so excited every single time he looked at her that way? It was so unreal, so foreign to her. This feeling of connection that she didn’t understand was going to make her worry. After all, she needed this job and roof over her head until she found a home for the boy.

That was her position here. She’d do well to remember that. Instead of pretending that he hadn’t stared right at her in that way, she decided to make him aware of her position as well. After all, a lady had to look out for herself. “Mr. Adams? Before we speak about my position here, I’d like to make myself clear to you. My intentions for taking on this enormous job is only to provide a home for Elijah while I am searching for a family for him. You see, he was not chosen by anyone during our stops along the orphan train route.”

He didn’t say anything at first, just nodded, then set the tray on the settee that was on the porch. “Would you care to sit down?” he asked.

There was plenty of room on the settee on the porch, so she did, then handed him a cup of tea. He waited until she made herself comfortable, then sat on the rocker beside her seat. She had to smile at the way he held the teacup. He wrapped his hand around it instead of using his forefinger and thumb. He’d probably take one gulp and empty the cup.

She didn’t know why she found that thought funny and began to giggle. He stopped his arm halfway to his mouth and looked at her again, one brow raised. “Do I look funny? Is there something on my chin?” he asked. His voice was amused as if he expected this from her.

She shook her head. “No, you’re certainly not funny. I believe I chose the wrong cup for you. Instead of a small teacup, a mug may have suited you better.”

“I haven’t given the cup a second thought,” he admitted, then took a large gulp and set it back on the tray. “But, thank you. That was delicious.” Then he grinned.

He obviously knew what she had been thinking and it made her look at him in a new light. Mr. Adams certainly wasn’t a prude, and he enjoyed laughing. He was also quite handsome as well. How did she get so lucky? Perhaps it wasn’t luck at all. A little nod to the sky assured her and the good Lord that she knew where her good fortune came from. “I’m glad you enjoyed the tea. Now, as I was saying before, I’d like to be clear on my position while in your employ.”

He lifted a hand. “Miss Emmett. I assure you that there are no ill intentions towards you, nor will there ever be.”

She let out a small puff of air. “Thank you. It’s important that a woman asserts herself from the start.”

He frowned. “The start of what?”

She was taken aback. “Well, the start of employment, of course.” She hadn’t meant anything else. Did she? No, of course not. She meant, oh, dear, she didn’t know what she meant. His eyes watching her every move was making her heart skip a beat and her brain fog up. She had never been at a loss for words before.

He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m teasing, Miss Emmett. I know exactly what you are trying to say. You do not want to be kissed. Or, man-handled by your employer. Although, kissing you would surely be a pleasure if you want my honest opinion.”

Had he truly spoken those words? Her face was starting to heat up. “I’m sure kissing you would be pleasant enough, too, sir. However, I can’t allow those things to get in the way.”

Mr. Adams picked up her hand. “Perhaps we should get the kiss out of the way so we both can discuss your position here. As she watched in complete stunned silence, he tugged gently on her hand, then lifted it as he lowered his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her skin, lingering there for a moment as she felt his soft lips press against them.

“Mr. Adams? Was that appropriate?”

“I’m not sure. It was lovely on my end, though.”

She blushed. Then she giggled. “Quite lovely,” she admitted. “I don’t think that was proper at all.”

“You did not seem to mind since your hand is still in mine.”

Her eyes widened as she realized he was right. “Oh my, then we must stop this nonsense.”

He grinned and gently dropped her hand. She had to admit she wasn’t upset or devastated when he had kissed her hand. Maybe it was a little improper. And, maybe she didn’t care. “Shall we discuss your sister now?”

He leaned back in his chair. “Violet Astrid Adams is my younger sister and a special fifteen year old child with needs that deem her not normal. Our parents died almost two years ago. They spent all their lives defending her from maniacs who wanted them to abandon her because she wasn’t normal. I came home and promised my mother on her deathbed that I would take care of her and I have kept that promise, even with the shady past that I had. She’s quite a bit of work. I’ll be honest with you, Miss Emmett, I’ve lost more caregivers than not. The last young woman was here the longest, but she has gone to New York to become a nurse. I’ve run out of options and then you came along.”

She knew it! God had not failed her! “I have news for you, sir. This is meant to be. Do you know why?” She didn’t give him a moment to answer. His mouth began to open, then it snapped shut as she went on. “I happen to know plenty about your sister’s condition.”

He looked amused, as if he didn’t quite believe it. “Is that a fact?”

She didn’t get offended at his words. Her adrenaline was pumping through her veins as she explained with utter and profound excitement. “Mr. Adams, I happen to know because there were two children over the years with the exact same issue as your sister. The reason she felt comfortable with me is because she recognizes that I’m not afraid of her or will ever make fun of the way she is. Violet is a very smart young lady; she just has to be shown the right way to do things and sometimes quite often. Perhaps what she has is a gift.”

He looked surprised at her words. “I’ve never heard anyone speak about my sister that way. At our home in Kansas where she was raised, they weren’t nice to Violet. I remember several times when I went home to visit, I found my mother crying because she didn’t understand why anyone would tell her that her daughter should be in an insane asylum.”

Madeline nodded. “People are awful. I’ve had to defend my charges many times because of their unique disorder. Your sister has almond-shaped eyes and her face is flatter like the two girls I’ve been telling you about. They were made fun of too for the physical differences.”

Madeline patiently watched as Mr. Adam’s brow furrowed. “When I got home, some of the other townsfolk were calling her an idiot or imbecile. Believe me, I got into quite a few fist fights over the whole thing.”

Madeline shook her head. “You needed to be armed with information, Mr. Adams. There were plenty of people who made fun of my charges at the Home for Friendless Children. What they didn’t know was that I was able to spend time in a wonderful library close to the orphanage. What I learned was a British doctor named John Langdon Down was advocating for these children that were unusual and being placed in institutions even though they could function perfectly fine in society.”

“There is a doctor who knows about her condition? I find that hard to believe, especially the way she’s been treated. If this doctor knows it’s a condition then why isn’t he doing something about it?”

“I believe he is, sir. It takes time, but the doctor is certainly advocating for the children.”

“They wanted me to send her away,” he whispered. “I can’t do that.”

“Who wanted to send her away? Terrible citizens that don’t have a lick of sense? Thank the good Lord that you never listened to them. They must be awful people!”

He leaned forward and took her hand again. “Thank you,” he told her. His eyes were so blue, and they looked right into her own. She shivered and wondered if he was going to kiss her hand again. She looked down.

He let go and stood. “I think we should retire for the evening. It’s always busy here in the morning. Thank you for speaking with me about Violet.”

Madeline stood too, then grinned. “We haven’t discussed my duties yet. I’m going to presume that you want me to take care of your sweet sister, cook, clean and run errands.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry. I got caught up in how beautiful you are when we first came outside, then our discussion about Violet.”

“I’ll take charge of the household if you will agree to that,” she offered. She noted to herself that he had called her beautiful again. Still, she didn’t allow that to deter her from this discussion. Even if she was pleasantly pleased with his words. He probably shouldn’t say them, but she wasn’t going to stop him.

He nodded. “I will agree to anything, Madeline, er, Miss Emmett. As long as you take good care of my sister, you have free rein here.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. If you need something at the mercantile or any other store, let them know I’ll stop by to pay for it. I want my sister well taken care of. Will a fee of twenty dollars a month with room and board be sufficient?”

“Twenty dollars is more than I need. But you must also be aware that your sister is in desperate need of some new dresses.”

“If you think she’ll be happier with new dresses, by all means, buy them for her.”

“Buy them? Don’t be ludicrous! We’ll buy the perfect material and I’ll teach her how to make her own.”

“She may not have the patience for sewing.”

“How do you know? If no one has ever shown her anything, then no one truly knows what kinds of skills she has.”

“You’ll be wonderful for my sister. I’m so grateful for you. Besides that, I need to go inside before I wind up pulling you into my arms and kissing you on the lips this time,” he told her out of the blue.

Some women might be shocked at his words, but she wasn’t. Not one bit. She was so pleasantly surprised, she blushed. Then she wondered what a kiss like that would feel like. “I’m not sure of my skills in that department, sir. You should go.”

He moved rather quickly and left her on the porch to ponder everything that had just happened. Mr. Adams was her employer and even though he made it clear that she was to be the caregiver, he didn’t seem to be able to control his thoughts or his hands when it came to Madeline.

She giggled. This was something new and exciting and she certainly didn’t want to get into trouble with her employer. The powers that ran the Home for Friendless Children hadn’t wanted her back because she was such an explosive cannon they told Miss Periwinkle. She giggled again.

Mr. Adams didn’t seem anything like those stiff-necked members of the board. As a matter of fact, he seemed a bit of an explosive cannon himself.

*****

Robert stood at the window of his room staring out at the night sky. The moon wasn’t as bright as earlier, but he could still see the tiny stars glittering all over the sky. His thoughts were of the woman who came into his life like a cloud of thunder and a bolt of lightning today.

How was he going to survive this if he couldn’t keep from touching her? If anything, he was wrong for kissing her hand. Yet, he was driven by the need to touch her beauty and wasn’t able to help himself. She was pure and lovely and soft. He had been drawn to her as if she had a spell on him.

That was it! She was a witch! Then, he did something that he didn’t do very often. He flung his head back and laughed at his ridiculous thoughts. If she were a witch, he didn’t mind at all if she put a spell on him.

He sobered quickly and had to force himself to stop behaving like a foolish young man with dreams. His business was in peril, his sister needed Miss Emmett more than anything right now and he was holding her hand and placed a kiss on it. A kiss that he’d never forget. Then he told her out loud that he wanted to kiss her lips.

Robert was to blame for his indecent manner. Perhaps he should go downstairs and apologize. Yet, he kept from moving away from the window.

She didn’t seem to mind. Actually, if he were honest with himself, Miss Emmett seemed to tease him with her eyes. The innocence in them drew him to her and he knew he wanted to be the first to taste her lips.

He sighed, then ran a hand through his hair. He needed sleep. Tomorrow came early and he had a full day ahead of him. Robert sat on the end of the bed and pulled off his boots, placing them close by in case his sister woke up in the middle of the night and tried to leave the house.

That had happened on several occasions. Luckily, he didn’t sleep very sound and he heard her taking the steps to the first floor. When he followed her and tried to call her back, she ran from him, laughing as he tried to catch her.

She had thought it was a game. That first night he wanted to yell at her but restrained himself from doing so. Instead, he followed close behind until they got to the road that led out of town. By then she wore herself out from walking and he carried her back to the house, promising himself that he’d do this every night in order to keep her safe.

Robert laid on top of his mattress, not bothering to cover with a blanket. Working in the heat mostly all day long, the coolness of the evening felt good on his body. He fluffed his pillow and crossed his arms over his head behind his neck thinking about the future.

Tomorrow he planned to work as long as possible. He had to catch up with all the jobs he’d pushed aside these past few weeks. Of course, he knew that Miss Emmett would take good care of his sister, but he wasn’t going to completely trust her yet. He knew from experience that the first few days were new for his sister and for the new employee. Violet was on her best behavior for now. That might change in a few days and he was going to be prepared in case it did.

So maybe he’d leave the other signs up for help that he posted in the other places in case Miss Emmett and the boy took off like a bat out of a dark cave when a lamp was lit inside it.

He had sworn to take care of his sister and he would never go back on that promise. No matter how beautiful Miss Emmett was or how good she was at taking care of his sister. It would be some time until he could completely trust her.

Robert hoped she’d stick around long enough to win his trust.