A Hope Beyond (34 page)
“I just feel that for everyone’s sake, including your mother’s, I can’t allow things to continue as they are.”
They fell silent and walked closer to where Victoria was completing her bouquet. “Victoria St. John,” Carolina finally admonished, “you are not to pick the flowers, and well you know it.”
Victoria looked up rather guiltily and smiled with a cherublike countenance. “But they are for you, Nanny.” She held up the offering and waited for further rebuke.
Carolina rolled her eyes and took the flowers in hand. “Thank you, but do not pick any more. We wouldn’t want to deny everyone else the pleasure of such beauty.”
Victoria nodded and once again went bounding in search of adventure. Joseph looked after her for a time, then surprised Carolina with yet another announcement.
“I scarce remembered to share our other news with you.”
“What news?”
Joseph seemed to take a mental inventory of his announcements. “Well, York and Lucy are quite happy to announce that Amy and little Andy are over the measles.”
Carolina was relieved to hear this good news. Andrew Adams was barely two years old and, according to Lucy, kept her running from sunup to sundown. To learn that he and Amy were suffering a bout of measles was a frightening revelation. Carolina had nursed Victoria through just such an epidemic not even a year earlier.
“That is good news. What else? Have you heard from Maine?”
“Indeed I have. He has headed west to California with a group of other adventurers. He feels quite certain God has called him to minister to the Indians, and he fearlessly intends to meet the calling.”
“I do wish he would have stopped long enough to say hello. I was quite devastated that he would journey to Oakbridge, but not to Baltimore.”
“His time was not his own, my dear. He was scarcely with us for more than two days. I would have sent for you had it been longer.”
“I know,” Carolina replied wistfully. “I can hardly remember what he looks like.”
“Well, memory would not serve you there. I sent a boy away to the seminary, and they returned to me a man. You would not recognize him. He has your mother’s gentle expression and a softness of spirit that I’m sure did not come from me.”
Carolina laughed. “Ah, but he has the wanderlust, and that must surely be a gift from you.”
Joseph laughed at the age-old reminder of his youthful dream to explore the world. “You are certainly right in that matter. And now I have saved the most astonishing news for last—it is something I felt you should hear in person, and that’s why I waited until my trip here. Georgia has eloped with Major Douglas Barclay. He is twenty-two years her senior and owns a horse-breeding farm just south of Washington.”
“What are you saying, Papa?” Carolina stood, totally aghast at this news. “I can’t believe it!” Then shaking her head as her mind struggled with the shock of her father’s words, Carolina asked, “When did she meet him?”
Joseph shook his head. “When did she meet half the men she was to run off and marry? I tell you, I’m actually relieved. Her reputation was becoming a bit tattered at the edges. When she and the Major—that’s what they call him—showed up at Oakbridge to offer this announcement, I toasted them and offered the man a belated dowry.”
“Did he take it?” Carolina asked, suddenly amused with the story.
“He did indeed. My immediate thought was that at least he was no fool.”
Joseph’s eyes twinkled with merriment, and Carolina couldn’t help but laugh. “So long as she is happy.” Then calling Victoria, Carolina suggested they return home. “Come have supper with us, Papa.”
“What of Mr. St. John?”
Carolina shrugged. “He is seldom around, and I don’t expect him this evening.”
But when they returned to the St. John house, Blake was not only there, but rather agitated that Carolina and Victoria had taken themselves out without explanation. He held back his questions at the sight of Carolina’s father and even extended an invitation to dine, but Carolina could see the emotion in his eyes.
“I will see to Victoria and join you both later,” Carolina said and headed the child toward the stairs.
“Nonsense!” Blake declared. “Mrs. Graves, you will see the child fed and bathed. I wish Miss Adams to remain with her father and in my company.”
“Very well, sir,” Mrs. Graves replied, not sounding the least bit happy.
“Come along,” Blake said to Joseph. “I have some very fine cigars, sir, if you are of a mind to join me.”
Joseph had never had a great love for them but, in order to put his host at ease, agreed to join him for a smoke. Carolina was grateful for his gesture and sat quietly as the men discussed the politics of the day. When the conversation finally turned to the Potomac and Great Falls Railroad, Carolina eagerly jumped in.
“Father, I’ve wanted to speak to you about the line for some time. Mr. Baldwin sends up scant reports on his work, but I see so many errors and circumstances which appear out of sorts that I can’t help but question whether or not he’s giving this his utmost attention.”
“Well, he is very busy these days. He has sold his interests in the bank, but in turn has picked up business by brokering for a variety of railroad companies and other properties. Ours is not his only interest.”
“Perhaps you should have someone else take over the books,” St. John advised.
“I would hate to offend the man. He’s been a good friend for most of my life. I’ll speak to him about your concerns, Carolina, but perhaps it’s nothing more than too little time spent in double-checking the figures.”
Carolina said nothing more. To further discuss such a personal concern in front of Blake St. John seemed out of place. And she certainly couldn’t accuse her father’s best friend of the things she was beginning to believe him capable of. The surveys seemed entirely wrong compared to other surveys of the area, and for the past five years ground had not even been broken on the proposed line. Their charter was only good for another five years, and Carolina seriously wondered if she would ever see a single track laid before it was necessary to go again to the Virginia legislature for permission to continue the line.
“The Baltimore and Ohio is finally making noticeable progress,” said St. John. “As I understand, they intend to be to Cumberland by November of this year.”
“I’ve heard the same, Mr. St. John,” Joseph replied. “It is especially good news to Carolina, no doubt. The B&O has far and away become her favorite railroad concern.”
“Only because our own is not functional,” she added. “The B&O is worthy of our trust, however. I’ve read their profit returns for last year, and things are definitely looking more promising.”
“They’ve a long ways to go,” St. John replied. “They struggle constantly to be issued the funds promised them.”
“But their profits are up and the expenses are down,” Carolina firmly interjected. “Three years ago their expenses were over three hundred thousand dollars. This year they predict to have that number reduced by one hundred thousand.”
“But total receipts are down,” St. John added. “I read those same reports with just as avid an interest. The 1839 statements show a gross receipt of four hundred seven thousand dollars for the main line. Last year they made little more than three hundred ninety thousand. You must see the entire picture, Miss Adams, in order to have a clear view of their situation. It is true that they show a greater net profit, but again there are many things to be factored in, and only then do you have the entire matter considered.”
“I’m afraid Mr. St. John is right, my dear,” Joseph said, still holding the smoking cigar.
“But they have the mail contracts now and the more powerful horizontal engines,” Carolina argued. “The incline planes have long been bypassed, and the traffic on the main stem is ever increasing. Surely these things all combine to benefit the line.”
“Of course they do,” St. John replied. “But the line remains unfinished, and until they can reach the Ohio River, they will continue to operate as less than a profitable railroad. Then, too, they’ve made a grievous error by not bringing the railroad across the Potomac at Hancock, Maryland. If they had planned ahead and reasonably connected the railroad to the town, they would also have connected with the National Road and be bringing in far more freight than they are now.”
“Why is it that they didn’t plan for that in the first place?” Joseph suddenly asked. “It only seems logical that the railroad should make itself readily available to passengers and freight.”
St. John shrugged his shoulders. “Why is it that any man fails to see what should be done before it is too late? Hindsight is always the better vision, no?”
Carolina studied St. John for a moment and wondered if there was more meaning to his words than merely talk of the railroad. She opened her mouth to question the situation further, but just then Mrs. Graves arrived to announce supper.
“I must say, Mr. Adams,” St. John commented as they made their way to the dining room, “your little railroad intrigues me. Might you be looking for another investor?”
Carolina turned so quickly in her surprise at this statement that she stepped on her gown and would have stumbled headlong onto the floor but for Blake St. John’s rapid action. Finding herself in the arms of her employer was most unnerving. She looked up into his dark eyes and found a hint of emotion she’d never seen before. If she hadn’t known better, she would have almost thought it to be embarrassment.
As he steadied her, Blake gave her a questioning gaze. “Are you quite all right?”
“Yes, thank you. I was merely surprised by your interest in our railroad. Do you truly mean to invest in it?”
St. John pursed his lips ever so slightly and rubbed his smooth chin. “I might very well mean to do just that. Good investments are hard to ignore.”
“I see little reason to continue investing in a railroad that for all purposes is nonexistent,” a bearded man told Leland Baldwin. Standing in Leland’s small study, a group of several investors in Joseph Adams’ Potomac and Great Falls Railroad nodded in agreement.
“Gentlemen, I assure you all possible plans are being laid to meet the establishment of this line. You must understand that the depression has weakened the entire structure of the investment. However”—he raised his hand as if to fend off any further concerns—“ the depression is passing rapidly away, and the financial strength of this country is returning to its former glory. I foresee little difficulty in substantiating physical evidence of your investment within the next six months.”
“Six months?” the man questioned. “But that would put us near to Christmas. It’s bad enough we’ve given over funds for these past five years, but to see little in the way of benefit—”
“Now, now,” Leland interrupted, “you know full well the reputation of Joseph Adams, and of myself,” he added proudly, hooking thumbs into his waistcoat pockets. “We are men of our word, and our actions prove nothing else. You will have your railroad and the connection you so desire from Falls Church to the city. But you must be patient. Come see me next week, and we can better discuss the matter then.”
Reluctantly the men assembled themselves together and moved en masse to the front door of the Baldwin home.
Leland dismissed them cordially and paused to wipe perspiration from his forehead as he closed the door. The heat of the day was most unbearable, but it was made even more so by the interrogation of his investors. Making his way back to the study, he’d scarcely removed his coat and taken a seat behind his desk before the butler appeared to announce the arrival of Joseph Adams.
“Show him in, by all means,” Leland replied and stood to once again retrieve his coat.
Joseph Adams entered the study appearing thinner and older than Leland had last remembered him. “Good to see you, Adams,” Leland said, his arm midway in the sleeve of his coat.
“Good to be here,” Joseph answered, then motioned to the coat. “By my leave, don’t bother with that. I’ll only be here for a few moments.”
Leland happily tossed the coat aside and offered Joseph a seat. “Would you care for something cool to drink?”
“No, thank you.” Joseph took a seat and leaned back wearily. “As I said, I won’t be here long. I only arrived by train this afternoon and am making my way home after a three-week absence.”
“Do tell. And what kept you away from home?”
“I went to Boston, Leland,” Joseph replied. All pretense at formality faded as he leaned forward. “I want to confide in you, and I need your utmost confidence.”
“But of course, Joseph. What is it?” Leland was greatly intrigued and took his seat quickly.
“I’m afraid the time has come for me to see Mrs. Adams cared for in a more appropriate manner. She has been quite unwell since the deaths of Penny and Maryland.” Leland nodded as if fully understanding. “I have just returned from Boston, where I visited a very fine hospital in the south area of the city. The conditions are most acceptable, and the doctors and nurses very attentive. They believe it possible to help Mrs. Adams, although they cannot tell quite so well until they meet with her and evaluate her.”
“I am sorry, Joseph. I had no idea things were as bad as all this. That you should feel compelled to remove . . . well, that is to say . . . that circumstances should prevent you from allowing . . .” He fell silent, unable to think of an appropriate way to express the situation.
Joseph seemed fully accepting of his frustration. “My good friend, it is with humble heart and deepest appreciation that I come to you. My son-in-law and daughter have no doubt amply cared for Oakbridge, but I am afraid I must impose upon your good will for a time longer and ask that you continue to assume the responsibility for our railroad endeavors.”
Leland let out his breath in a noticeable sigh. “But of course, Joseph. You needn’t ask.”
“I will tell you this much. Carolina is happy to continue her consideration of the bookwork. She has taken a most thorough interest in the situation and has a great many questions to pose. I suggested she post her concerns to you in a letter.”
“Of course. I’d be happy to explain any of these matters to her. She is, after all, a young woman, and no doubt the workings of legislative edicts and bills of lading can be confusing.”