Page 1 of The Gift of Seeds
PROLOGUE
St. Louis, 1873
AUTUMN
Hester Smith straightened from leaning over the large laundry tub and rubbing dirty clothes up and down the washboard. She swiped a hand over her apron to dry her palm. Inhaling a breath of lye-soap-smelling air, she pressed her knuckles into her back to work out the kink from scrubbing what seemed like an endless amount of the clothing and bedding from the orphanage.
She wiped an arm across her damp forehead, pushed back curling tendrils of hair, and smiled at her friend Lovie Hicks. “Lucky you. When you get married, you’ll just have Hiram’s and your clothes and linens to wash.”
Lovie scrubbed away at the clothes in her own tub, her pretty face flushed from the heat. As always when someone mentioned her betrothed, her expression lit up. “I can’t wait. Soon, I’ll be Mrs. Hiram Ledbetter.”
Knowing her friend didn’t need any encouragement to chatter away about her favorite topic, Hester curled her toes inside her oversized, thin-soled boots. The balls of her feet ached from standing so long on the flagstones lining the laundry room.
“Seems like my birthday is taking forever to get here.” Lovie gestured dramatically with one soapy hand.
Some watery bubbles sprayed and hit Hester’s cheek. Playfully, she made a face at Lovie before brushing them away with her damp sleeve.
“If only Hiram wasn’t so stubborn, insisting I turn eighteen before we wed.”
“Only two more weeks.” Hester tried to ignore the pain in her heart and look happy for her friend.Whether I’m eighteen or one hundred and eighteen, no man will want me. Especially, if he discovers I’m illegitimate.Not that she said so aloud. Even her best friend didn’t know her shameful secret.
She must not have succeeded in hiding her discouraging thoughts, for a little of Lovie’s light dimmed.
“I know things won’t be the same once I’m married. But you’re always welcome to visit the farm. I’ll do a little matchmaking. Hiram has several neighboring families with adult sons. Maybe you’ll catch the eye of one of them.”
Dear Lovie, as sweet and optimistic as her name.“You know that won’t happen. Men aren’t interested in a shy, plain wife.”
“Perhaps if you make an effort, Miss Mouse.”
How many times have we had this conversation?“You might as well give up trying to make me more like you.”
“You have a beautiful heart, Hester,” Lovie gently scolded. “But men won’t see your goodness if you hide away from them.”
The sound of heavy, limping footsteps on the slate flooring of the hallway made both girls bend to their tasks.
Matron Holtz, a stern, heavyset woman with a kind heart, entered the room, clutching an opened letter. “Hester, I havegood news for you,” she said with a faint German accent. “Mrs. Nathaniel Ransome, a widow, is in need of a maid-of-all work. You’ll live with her, and she’ll provide a uniform. She’d like you to start as soon as possible. The pay is five dollars a month.”
Five dollars a month!Hester’s eyes went wide. The amount sounded like a fortune, especially since she’d never possessed any money except for the Christmas penny given to each child by generous donors, or the ones she sometimes earned from work outside the orphanage.
She glanced at Lovie, who looked equally round-eyed.
Mrs. Holtz flapped the letter. “Shall I write Mrs. Ransome and tell her that you’ll accept?”
At Hester’s vigorous nod, the matron smiled. “I have no doubt you’ll please Mrs. Ransome with your competence and reserved demeanor.”
The rare compliment made heat rise to Hester’s cheeks. “Thank you, ma’am.”
Mrs. Holtz glanced at the watch pinned to her generous bosom. “You may be excused for fifteen minutes to discuss your good fortune with your brother.” The matron smiled again. “Well, five minutes to discuss the news with Lovie, and then fifteen minutes with your brother. He’s outside digging potatoes.
Hester glanced out the steamed-up window that overlooked the orphanage garden, searching for Jimmy. But among the dim figures, she couldn’t make him out.
“Your leaving won’t be easy for him to accept.” With a sigh, the matron heavy-footed out of the room.
The quarter-acre garden,shaded along the edges by fruit trees, supplied much of the food for the orphanage, as well as being anunending source of labor and training for the children. Today, older ones dug shallow trenches, while the littles trailed behind them, planting beet, carrot, and radish seeds in rows for a late fall harvest. The middle children gathered mature vegetables, with the boys doing the digging and the girls the picking.
Passing the lavender bed, Hester stooped to break off one of the last flowering stems and brought it to her nose. She inhaled the scent and then tucked the stem through the buttonhole of her shirt.
She saw her brother Jimmy at the same time he noticed her, giving Hester a quick grin in greeting. He wore a well-patched shirt and overalls, and a straw hat with frayed edges. Hester made a mental note to weave him a new hat before she left—straw, at least, was readily available.
