Page 30 of Because I Could Not Stop for Death

“When we move, and we have a new greenhouse, it will be attached to the main house, so I won’t have to go outside in foul weather,” Emily said.

“As usual, Father granted your wish,” Miss Lavinia said in a perturbed voice. “Like he always does.”

“Father does not grant my every wish. Far from it,” Emily scoffed. “He doesn’t do that for anyone.”

“Maybe so, but he is much more lenient on you than on Austin and me. He has always treated you differently.”

“That is your perception, dear Sister, but it is not true. Father is stern and reserved with us all.” Emily must have noticed me standing in the cold. “Willa, come in. I’m glad that you are here.”

I stepped into the greenhouse, and the space was tight with all three of us there, not to mention Carlo.

Miss Lavinia frowned at me, and Carlo, who was napping in the corner of the greenhouse on a large pillow, lifted his head just a fraction. When he saw it was me, he set his chin back onto his massive paws and closed his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Miss Lavinia asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the house brushing the furniture?”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

“Vinnie,” Emily said. “Be kind. I asked Miss O’Brien if she could spare Willa so she could help in the greenhouse.”

Miss Lavinia’s eyes went wide. “But I am the one who helps you in the greenhouse.”

“I know, but you don’t enjoy it as much as I do. I learned that Willa loves plants, so I asked her to help. In that case, you can spend more time on what you enjoy, like your music and needlework.”

Miss Lavinia frowned. “What if what I enjoy is spending time with my sister?”

“We do that enough, Vinnie. You need your own pursuits. Everyone should have their own singular passion that is unattached to any other person. Without it, life becomes a cycle of serving others’ passions. That’s not much of a life at all.”

“I believe caring for your family is a worthy passion.” Miss Lavinia stomped out of the greenhouse. The glass door rattled behind her as she slammed it shut.

“Don’t mind her,” Emily said. “Vinnie is not happy unless she is taking care of a problem. If there is no problem to be mended, she becomes lost.”

The door had not closed completely when she slammed it, so I quietly closed it until the latch caught. “I don’t know what I did to Miss Lavinia to make her dislike me this much. I haven’t had the chance to say more than a few words to her in all the time that I have worked for your family.”

“Vinnie is protective of me. She always has been. I am the older sister, but both she and Austin treat me like a child from time to time.”

“Why would they do that?” I glanced through the wavy glass wall of the greenhouse and saw Miss Lavinia hurry into the house.

“It is hard to stay. I would like to believe that I have proven myself to them by now.” Emily pressed her lips together as if she realized that she had said too much.

I wondered if this was what it was like to have a large family. There were so many relationships to navigate. It had just been Henry and me for so long that it had been far less complicated. I had only one person to think about, at least after my mother passed on. I didn’t have nearly the number of friends and family that Emily did. How did she manage all of those relationships? I had a feeling that I would certainly have failed at it if I had that many people to consider. Hadn’t I failed Henry? And he was my only one.

Emily cleared her throat. “Now is the time that I start the seedlings for spring. I like to have healthy green plants before I place them in the ground. They have the greatest chance of success then. To sow the seed directly into the earth is taking a big risk. I do that for some plants that I know will be able to flourish with the seeds in the ground, such as nasturtium, sunflowers, and cosmos. But my more delicate plants get the utmost pampering in my greenhouse until they are ready to transplant.”

“How many types of seeds are you starting?” I leaned over her potting table and stared at the lines of neatly labeled seeds.

“Dozens. In my mind there can never be enough plants in this world. They attract the animals, bees, and birds. All are welcome to my garden. The only thing that makes me happy about moving is we will have ample land for a large garden. I worry about my plants being moved from here to there. I will have to keep an extra careful eye on them when that happens.”

Carlo snored softly in the corner.

Emily smiled at the dog. “I like him in the greenhouse with me. When he is here, it keeps Vinnie’s cats out. Those rascals.”

“I’ve always like cats,” I confessed. “I’ve never had a pet. I’ve never lived anywhere where I could have a pet of my own, but I think I would have a cat if I did.”

Emily wrinkled her nose. “Well, that’s something you have in common with my sister. Perhaps she will start liking you if you tell her about your affinity for felines.”

I guessed it would take a lot more than my appreciation of cats to make Miss Lavinia like me.

Emily put me to work setting tomato seeds in small clay pots. “Don’t put more than four seeds in each pot. When they come up, we will choose the strongest sprout and thin the rest. When we transfer them to larger pots we will include cow manure. Tomatoes love manure.”

---