Page 6 of Because I Could Not Stop for Death

“I knew how you would react,” he said with a smile. “You would worry, but you have no need to. When I’m a coach driver, I can set my own fare and have my own business. I won’t have to work for a rich man any longer.”

“But how will you afford your own team and carriage?” I asked.

“Do not worry over that now.” He waved away my question as if it meant little.

“But where are you sleeping?” I asked.

“I don’t have a room yet but am allowed to sleep in the stables with the horses. It’s dry and warm. There’s not much else a lad like me can ask for.”

I frowned. “I don’t want you sleeping in a barn. We have not worked this hard since Mother died for you to sleep with animals.”

“It’s much nicer than any room we slept in as children.”

I shook away dark memories that threatened to cloud my mind. “Even so, the money I make here will be saved up so you can rent a room. You should be in a proper bed. Working in stables is hard on the body. If you do not rest properly, you may be hurt. You need your wits about you when you are working with all those horses. You don’t know yet how they will behave.”

He snorted. “I’m not worried about working with horses. I understand them and they understand me.”

I wanted to argue more, but before I could speak, he said proudly, “By the time I’m done with this job you will have a proper house, a house all your own where I can be my own man.”

“Yes, but that is years away.”

He grinned again. “No, it is not. I have a way to speed up the process. When I do, I will come into the money I need to buy my own carriage and team. Then we will be as fancy as the Dickinsons and their friends.”

I frowned. “I don’t understand, Brother. How can you come into that much money at a livery starting as a stable boy?”

He grinned again. “You will see.”

I took a step toward him. “Please don’t get entangled into another scheme that might land you in trouble. Tell me exactly what your plan is. I need to know.”

He went to the window and opened it. It was raining as hard as ever. There was a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. “Come to the livery on Sunday, and I will show you.” My brother put one leg out the window and began to climb. “I will tell you all then.” With that he was gone.

I put my head out the window, and rain pelted it. Henry shimmied down the side of the house like a sure-footed squirrel. He jumped to the ground, waved, and then ran away.

There was another flash of lightning, and I spotted a small form and a large beast walking through the garden in the driving rain. It was a woman and a large dog. The woman’s pale face turned toward me. I gasped, jumped back, and slammed the window shut.

Chapter Three

For the next two days, I worried Miss Dickinson—for I knew it was she who stood in the garden that rainy night with her dog, Carlo—would tell Miss O’Brien that there was a young man in my room. On the third day after Henry’s visit when I still had not heard any word of it, I began to relax a little. I knew from past experience that some prefer to hold on to scandalous information until it could be used best as a weapon later. I prayed Miss Dickinson wasn’t one of those people.

I saw Miss Dickinson around the house, but she never spoke to me or even looked at me. If she was curious about the man who had been in my room, she did not show it.

On the fourth day, I was feeling much better about it all. I believed if I were to be in trouble for Henry’s behavior I would have known by now. And if Miss Dickinson was waiting to use that against me later, well, then, I would be on my best behavior to cause her no reason to.

I went about the day first cleaning the kitchen until it sparkled and then I moved onto the family bath. I had happiness in my step. I liked my new position. Miss O’Brien was firm but kind, and in the evening, she and the market woman, who also was Irish, would sit in the kitchen and swap stories about their homeland. I loved to stand in the hallway and listen to them. I found their accents captivating. I could almost imagine myself sitting by a warm fire listening to their tales. I never let on that I was listening though. I didn’t know how they would like it.

It was Friday, and I would be able to visit my brother in two days’ time. That brought me great cheer as well. I wanted to see with my own eyes that Henry was in a good spot. If I didn’t approve—and I would be very surprised if I did—I would encourage him to find another position. He could be stubborn, so while I scrubbed the bath until it shone, I practiced my speech to my younger brother. “Henry, you need to find a position where you can sleep in a real bed and can save money. Sleeping in a barn is no way to live. Think of what Mother would say if she knew.” I muttered this as I polished the pewter feet of the bath. “It’s best for your health to be in a real bed in a room of your own. You’re young now, but you won’t be always. Your back will ache as you age. You don’t want to have a crooked spine, do you?”

Two of Miss Lavinia’s cats, one ginger and the other gray, stood in the bathroom and watched me work. They seemed to be listening to my speech too. I had learned that the cats liked to watch me when I worked, and I enjoyed having them around. I didn’t feel as alone with the cats near.

“Do you two think my argument will work with him?”

They studied me with their amber eyes.

“Willa,” Miss O’Brien said from the door. “Can I have a word?”

I jumped. “Yes, Miss O’Brien.” I started to gather up my bucket and rags.

“No, leave that,” she said. “You can come back for it later and finish.”

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