Daughter of the Loom (Bells of Lowell Book #1) (17 page)

“So it would seem. I am truly amazed by her transition from farm wife to fashionable hostess. Her party last Saturday evening was exquisite.”

“No doubt. You probably were never told that my mother’s family was both influential and wealthy. She grew up accustomed to elegant parties and expensive belongings. Her parents were aghast when she married my father. Needless to say, her life changed dramatically. The transition to farm wife was much more difficult than what she has experienced returning to a life of advantage.”

“I would have never suspected, but it certainly explains her ability to entertain in fine fashion. I must admit that I’m surprised. I always thought your mother was content as the wife of a farmer.”

“She was very content with her life on the farm. However, she was delighted to return to a more leisurely lifestyle. Given the opportunity, I believe most women would do the same.”

Lilly stopped and looked up at him. “But not all. There are still women who prefer farm life.”

“Yes, Lilly, I am well aware of your opinion,” Matthew replied as he took her elbow and began to lead her across the street.

She tugged her arm from his grasp. “I can find my way back to the boardinghouse, Matthew. We’re out of your mother’s vantage point, and I promise she’ll never hear from my lips that you didn’t escort me all the way home.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with me a while longer, Lilly. There’s no way I dare leave you. My mother will subject me to a multitude of questions at her first opportunity. Moreover, I would suffer her wrath should she discover I left your side before reaching the door of the boardinghouse.”

“You can tell her—”

Matthew placed his finger on her lips. “Please don’t encourage me to tell her a lie. It’s impossible. From the time I was a little boy, she always knew when I was lying.”

Lilly backed away. Matthew couldn’t quite figure her mood, but she seemed almost fearful of him. “You’re an adult now, Matthew. You’ve become an expert at deceit. I’m sure that once you set your mind to the task, your mother won’t suspect a thing. And, as I said, I certainly wouldn’t tell her that we parted company before reaching the boardinghouse.”

Her words stung. While he considered himself truthful and straightforward, she thought him cunning and deceitful. He had never lied to her, never hidden his desire to succeed in the business world. Surely she didn’t think he should hold to a childish promise to farm the rest of his life. Those words had been spoken long before he entered college and realized the scope of what the world had to offer. He had explained all of this to her, but she had closed her ears, unwilling to plan a future unless it was solely on her terms. “I didn’t realize your hatred ran so deep,” he finally replied.

She didn’t respond, so they continued onward, an uncomfortable silence threatening to smother them, until they finally arrived outside number 5 Jackson Street.

“Hello, Lilly,” Josephine Regan greeted as she and Jenny Dunn approached from the opposite direction.

Lilly nodded her head. “Hello.”

The two girls waited. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your
friend?
” Jenny finally asked.

Lilly’s teeth were clenched together, her jaw forming a hard line. “He is
not
my friend; he is Matthew Cheever. Matthew, these are two more of your employees, Josephine Regan and Jenny Dunn. Good night, ladies. Good night, Mr. Cheever.”

Matthew watched as she turned, walked inside, and left him staring after her.
“He is not my friend,”
she had said emphatically. The words rang true, and the emptiness left in their wake devastated Matthew’s sense of well-being.

“Where have you been, Lilly? Nadene wouldn’t tell us anything except that you’d been invited to supper,” Marmi squealed as Lilly walked in the bedroom door.

“Shhh. You’ll waken the others,” Lilly cautioned.

Marmi and Prudence sat up in bed, their attention focused on Lilly. “Tell us, then, or we’ll continue to get louder until you do,” Prudence warned.

“You have no shame, either of you! I have nothing exciting to report. I had supper at the Cheever household and came home.”

The girls’ disappointment was evident, but they quickly recovered. “We spent most of the evening deciding on dresses for the Lighting Up Ball. I think we’re going to trade dresses this year. Pru is going to put new lace on my dress, and I’m going to refashion hers just a bit. We’re hoping no one will realize. Do you have something special you plan to wear?”

The color had heightened in both girls’ cheeks. Just talking about the dance had obviously given them great pleasure. Lilly wasn’t sure how they could become excited over something as trivial as a dance, but she would never tell them her true feelings. “I don’t plan to go,” she replied simply.

Their gasps echoed through the room. “Not going? But you must. We all go—it’s . . . well, it’s expected. The ball is one of the nice things that the Corporation does for us,” Marmi explained while Prudence bobbed her head up and down in affirmation.

“If it’s one of the
nice
things the Associates do for us, surely they won’t mind if I don’t take advantage of their kindness. I think what they want are hours of drudgery in the mills, not the opportunity to hold us on the dance floor.”

The two girls giggled. “That’s true for most of the men, but there are a few who find it enjoyable to pull a girl or two close,” Prudence replied. Once again the girls began their chortling.

Lilly glared at them. “You find that kind of repugnant behavior humorous?”

Immediately the girls sobered, Marmi appearing on the verge of tears. “Several of the girls have managed to find husbands at the mills,” Marmi whimpered. “Is it wrong to giggle about that? We all want to find a husband. The Lighting Up Ball is a good opportunity to meet some of the men.”

Lilly silently chided herself. Prudence and Marmi didn’t know about Thaddeus Arnold and his disgusting activities; they were merely excited about having an evening of fun squeezed into their monotonous existence. She was spoiling the small ray of sunshine in their lives. “You’re right, Marmi—the ball is an excellent place to meet some of the men. Please accept my apology. I’m tired and didn’t think before speaking.”

Immediately Marmi’s mood lightened and she bounced across the bed. “That’s all right, Lilly. Do you have a special dress you can wear?”

There was a soft knock. Prudence climbed across the bed and stood whispering through the door, “Who is it?”

Instead of a reply, Josephine and Jenny pushed open the door. Josephine folded her arms and plopped down on the bed opposite Lilly. “Just
who
are you, and how is it you know the likes of Matthew Cheever?” she demanded.

Lilly was silent. How could she answer Josephine’s questions? Matthew Cheever was from another time and place. A time and place that no longer existed, that had slipped away and would never return.

Chapter 12

Restlessness plagued Lilly’s sleep. Images of her father and Lewis arguing were mingled with a woman’s screams. Lewis was counting coins at a table in front of the fire while her father mumbled indecipherable words.

The scream again. Lilly’s eyelids fluttered and then closed. Lewis was riding off at full gallop on a chestnut mare.

Another scream.

Lilly bolted upright in her bed. A loud crash followed by a piercing cry and a man’s muffled voice filled what should have been a silent night. She looked about the darkened room, her heart pounding. The other girls slept soundly; even Nadene’s cough was silent tonight. Something crashed against the wall, followed by a heavy thud.

“Please don’t,” a woman begged, her voice shrill.

Lilly grasped Nadene’s arm. “Wake up, Nadene,” she whispered. “Please wake up!”

“I didn’t hear the bell,” Nadene muttered.

Lilly leaned close to Nadene’s ear. “The bell hasn’t sounded yet. There’s something going on next door. Listen!” The man’s voice grew louder. A dull thud reverberated, then sobbing followed a woman’s shriek. “Did you hear that?”

Nadene nodded. “These row house walls are not very thick. I hear it almost every night.”

“You do? Why haven’t you mentioned it?”

Nadene wriggled upward in the bed, leaning her back against the headboard. Lilly sat beside her, both of them staring toward the wall separating them from the sickening sounds.

“I decided there was nothing we could do. Losing sleep isn’t going to benefit Mrs. Arnold, and it certainly isn’t going to do us any good, either.”

Lilly’s mind reeled at Nadene’s words. She turned in the darkness and looked toward Nadene. She could barely make out her friend’s features. “Mrs. Arnold? Mrs.
Thaddeus
Arnold? Is that who lives there?”

“The Arnolds moved in last week after he became supervisor of the spinning room. That’s when the noises began. We never had any of these disturbances when Mr. Hester and his family lived next door in the supervisor’s quarters.”

“Do you think Thaddeus Arnold is beating his wife?”

“Think about it, Lilly. Who else could it be?”

Lilly heard the words, but her mind raced, thinking of the times she’d seen Mrs. Arnold outdoors. On those occasions when Lilly had walked nearby, Mrs. Arnold had turned her back or rushed indoors. Surprised by the older woman’s reactions, Lilly had decided Mr. Arnold didn’t want his wife associating with the hired girls. Now Lilly feared that Mrs. Arnold had become reclusive in order to hide her bruises. An involuntary shiver coursed through her body. How could that poor woman endure living with Thaddeus Arnold? she wondered.

“We must do something, Nadene. I can’t bear to sit here and listen to her suffer.”

“What do you suggest?”

Lilly remained silent for several minutes, just long enough for the noises to resume. “I’m going to knock on the wall so he knows we can hear them,” she finally replied. “If Mr. Arnold knows someone can hear them and that we know what he’s doing, surely he will stop.”

“I don’t know if that’s wise. Sometimes it’s best to stay out of other people’s business.”

“Wouldn’t you want someone to help
you
, Nadene?”

Nadene began coughing raspy, croaking sounds from deep in her chest. Finally able to get her breath, Nadene wiped her nose and once again leaned back. “Of course I would. But Mr. Arnold’s our supervisor. If we get into the midst of his family problems, it could lead to more trouble than you or I could ever imagine.”

At that moment Mrs. Arnold’s voice pealed out in a desperate cry for help. Lilly bounded off the bed, grabbed her heavy work shoe, and began pounding on the wall. Again and again she beat against the wall, all the while praying that her feeble effort would somehow rescue poor Mrs. Arnold. Her hand and arm ached when finally she ceased her efforts. She dropped the shoe and turned back toward the bed. All was silent. Prudence and Marmi were huddled beside Nadene, where a candle now flickered on the bedside table. Katie, Sarah, Beth, and Franny had all joined together on one bed. Their faces were etched with apprehension and fear.

Prudence finally broke the silence that hung in the room. “Have you gone mad?”

“I don’t think so,” Lilly replied with a nervous giggle. “I think Mr. Arnold may have gotten the message.”

“What message?” Marmi’s wide-eyed innocence reminded Lilly of a small child.

“That we can hear through the walls, Marmi. That we know he’s beating his wife. I’m hoping Mr. Arnold realizes that if he doesn’t stop his ugly behavior, there will be repercussions.”

Prudence folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. “You may find that the repercussions are directed at us rather than Mr. Arnold. That man could cause more problems than any of us can conceive.”

“If Mr. Arnold takes steps to persecute any of you, I’ll take the blame. What occurred is my doing. I’ll absolve you of any involvement,” Lilly promised.

Katie motioned to Sarah. “Come on, we need to get to sleep.” Sarah slipped into bed first since she slept against the wall. Katie joined her while Beth and Franny went to their own bed.

Prudence squirmed between the beds and plopped down beside Lilly. “It’s not that we disagree with you, Lilly. But we all need our jobs. He has the power to make things happen. We don’t.”

Lilly nodded. “We may have more power than you think, Prudence. Either way, I can’t ignore his behavior. He’s a vile man who apparently has no respect for women, even his own wife. But for now I believe we had better try to get some sleep. I’ve kept everyone awake long enough,” Lilly said as she snuffed the candle and settled back into bed.

“What you did was a good thing,” Marmi whispered into the darkness.

“Thanks,” Lilly replied. She closed her eyes and tried to pray. Instead she found herself questioning God, wondering why such horrible things happen to people. Why, she wondered, didn’t God make life any easier?

The events of her own life flooded her thoughts. God had allowed her to suffer at the hands of her brother. God had taken her parents just when she needed them most. It all seemed so unfair.
I tried to live as a good Christian girl
, Lilly reasoned.
Did I do something so very wrong that God had to punish me?
She pushed the thought aside. God was good and loving, just and fair. She had to believe that.

But if God was good and fair, then why had she come to this place in her life?

You have a mission
, she reminded herself.
God was even harsh with Jonah when he avoided the job God had given him to do. When I complete my mission, God will smooth the way for me. He will be pleased with me then and make things right again
.

Perhaps she had become privy to Thaddeus Arnold’s behavior in order for God to reinforce the need for retribution against the Boston Associates. Tonight’s incident was one more reason that she must remain strong in her determination to mete out justice against the greedy men and their selfish motivations. Once again sleep came, this time filling her mind with dreams of an idyllic countryside filled with bountiful fruit trees and sheep drinking from streams of crystal clear water.