Hannah: Bride of Iowa (American Mail Order Bride 29) (11 page)

Chapter SIXTEEN

She reached over, looking for the warm body to snuggle up to, but Samuel was gone. Maddie stretched her arms over her head and pointed her toes, her muscles were still sore. Then she rolled onto her side and watched as the sunlight streaking through the curtains. Today was Thanksgiving. She should be up, dressed, and downstairs helping Bessie with breakfast.

The bedroom squeaked open and Samuel poked his head in. “I was wondering if you were up or maybe just going to sleep all day?”

“I think that is just what I’ll do.”

“Well, let me help you make up your mind.” She threw the covers over her head, laughing as he jumped on the bed, searching and tickling.

“Okay, you win. I’ll get up.”

“Yes, ma’am, you will. Somebody needs to cook a turkey for me today.”

Maddie untangled herself from the blankets and got on her knees, putting her arms around his neck. “Is that all you need for me to do for you?”

Samuel went to the door and turned the lock. “Since you asked…”

* * * *

“Mama, I’m hungry. When do we get to eat?” Lizzy asked. Who could blame her? The turkey was done to a golden brown and the aroma in the house was undoubtedly making everybody’s mouth water. Stuffing and fluffy mashed potatoes and gravy were ready to be set on the table along with a crock of creamy butter. Steam rolled off fresh green beans and hot biscuits completed the meal.

The whole family was there and, of course, Charles was invited, but hadn’t shown. The plan had been to eat outside, but it was too cold. The sky was clear but temperatures were in the high thirties. Samuel made sure there was a roaring fire going to keep the house warm. It would be a bit crowded, but having the family together made it worth it.

There was a rap on the door. Samuel opened it and Charles said, “I’m with Lizzy. When are we eating?” He shook Samuel’s hand and gave Maddie a peck on the cheek.

“I didn’t think we were going to see you today, Charles. I held dinner for a bit, hoping you would be able to come.” Maddie took his coat and hung it on a peg.

“Folks still get sick on the holidays.” Charles shook his head as he stood by the fire to warm himself. “I get so busy. I really need somebody to help me. Take notes, hand me equipment, make sure I have everything I need before leaving the office.”

“There must be someone you could hire,” Bessie said as she and Maddie put the remaining dishes on the table.

“Not at this point.” Charles picked Lizzy up like a sack of corn and sat her at the table next to him. “No need to talk about it now. Let’s eat!”

Gus said the blessing, “Thank you for the food we are about to eat, but Lord, more than that, thank you for making sure all our loved ones are safe and thanks for making sure we are all together on this Thanksgiving Day.” Amens were said and everybody dug in. Plates were filled and conversation was sparse as they ate the feast that sat before them.

Once everyone had their fill, dishes were cleaned and an apple pie was served. Among groans of not being able to eat another bite, nobody refused a piece.

Maddie was sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs tickling a struggling Lizzy when she heard a tap on the door. When nobody moved to answer the knock, she said, “Samuel, I think somebody’s at the door.”

He walked over and opened it. “Hello,” he said. “Can I help you?” When there was no answer he looked over to Maddie. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“I’m, my name is…”

Maddie couldn’t see who was at the door from where she was sitting, so she put Lizzy down and went to see who it was. Her eyes widened and she felt herself go pale.

“Maddie, are you alright?” Kate asked.

She didn’t answer, just slowly walked the rest of the way to the door. Gone were the dark green skirt and gold-trimmed matching coat. No more silk blouse with pearl buttons that ran up to her neck and the wide brimmed hat with white and gold flowers and feathers was nowhere to be seen. Her light blonde hair that had been swept up in curls, was now hanging straight down her back. She wore a brown muslin dress and a man’s coat. Even her alabaster skin was replaced by yellowish bruises on her cheeks and her chin and she was thinner than Maddie remembered.

Maddie took her hand and led her in from the cold, touching her bruised cheek. “What happened to you?” Maddie gasped when the girl fainted at her feet.

“Do you know this person?” Samuel asked Maddie as Charles bent down to see what could be done.

“Yes, Samuel, I do. This is Hannah Brown.”

Chapter SEVENTEEN

Charles scooped the unconscious girl off the floor. “Take her upstairs to the spare room,” Samuel said.

Maddie led the way. She hurried to turn down the covers and Charles gently laid Hannah down. Maddie stood back and let the doctor examine the woman. After a few minutes, Hannah opened her eyes, scooting away when she saw Charles leaning over her.

Charles said in a soothing low voice, “I’m Doctor Charles Page. I practice in West Liberty and I’m friends with Samuel and Maddie. Please don’t be afraid.” When Hannah didn’t answer, Charles motioned for Maddie to come sit by the bed.

Maddie took Hannah’s hand in hers. “Are you okay? You fainted downstairs.”

Tears gathered in the girl’s eyes. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. I…I just didn’t know where else to go.” She shut her eyes again, as if falling asleep.

Maddie squeezed her hand. “Hannah.”

Her eyes jerked open. “Oh God,” she moaned. “I’m so sorry. I just haven’t slept for a long time.”

Maddie looked at Charles. “I’ve got something I can give her to help her.

“Hannah, Charles, I mean Dr. Page, is going to give you something to relax you. You’re staying at our house tonight and we will figure something out tomorrow.” The girl attempted to sit up, but Maddie wouldn’t hear of it. “Please, Hannah, lie down. You need to get some sleep.”

Tears made paths down the sides of her face. “Thank you,” Hannah whispered.

It took only a few more minutes for Charles to administer laudanum.

“She’ll sleep through the night,” he whispered. “Let’s go back down.”

When they got downstairs, everybody was outside, getting ready to leave as it was early evening. Kate suggested Gus and Bessie come back to her house, as Maddie and Samuel’s guest room was taken for the night. Hugs were given all the way around.

“It’s alright that you have the original Hannah staying in your room, isn’t it?” Kate asked.

“As long as my husband doesn’t look longingly in her direction and begin to regret marrying me.”

Samuel gave his wife a mock glare putting his arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight against him. “Any more talk like that and I’ll have to turn you over my knee.”

Kate laughed and climbed up into the back of their wagon. “Sounds like all is well here then. Thank you for the wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, Maddie. We will talk soon.”

Everyone waved goodbye when Gus drove the wagon rode out of the yard.

Charles climbed up on his horse and before leaving said, “I’ll come back tomorrow to make sure she’s alright.”

* * * *

Sleep eluded Maddie that night. “Samuel,” Maddie whispered when they were in bed, “now that you have seen who might have been your wife, are you disappointed?”

“Maddie,” his tone held truth and sincerity, “as God is my witness, I would only thank her for pointing you my way. You and Lizzy are my world and nothing or nobody can change that.” Even with Samuel’s reassuring words and the fact he pulled her tight against him to keep them warm, her mind would not shut off. What had gone wrong with Hannah? Were those bruises on her face? Maddie remembered her words — “I will never step foot in Iowa.” Why was she here?

The sun hadn’t begun to rise when Maddie slipped out of bed. Every morning she would look in on Lizzy before going downstairs, but on this day, she held her breath as she peeked in on their house guest. Hannah looked to be sleeping restfully.

Maddie got the fire going to warm the house and started water to boil. A creaking from upstairs told her Samuel would be down soon.

Mr. Wiggles put his paws on her lap when she finally sat down. “What are you doing putting those dirty paws up here?” She scratched behind his ears, making the little tail wag even harder.

“Good morning.”

Maddie jumped in surprise when she spotted Hannah at the bottom of the stairs. Her hair was tangled and looked as if she’d tried to comb it using her fingers and her brown dress was badly wrinkled. “Oh my goodness, you startled me. I thought it was Samuel who was stirring up there.”

“I’m sorry,” Hannah said, taking a chair and sitting across from Maddie. “It’s pretty early. Do you always get up at the crack of dawn?”

“No.” Maddie smiled. “I just couldn’t sleep.”

“I suppose that might have a little something to do with me.”

An uncomfortable silence grew. Maddie decided to break it by offering Hannah coffee.

“Yes, please,” Hannah replied. “I never drank coffee before going to New Orleans. I learned to like it there because it helped me to stay awake.”

“Is New Orleans as exciting as I’ve heard — something going on all hours of the day?”

It took several seconds before Hannah answered. “I don’t know.” Her blue eyes were dull with…fear or maybe fatigue. “I thought I would be a part of this exciting town. Things were so good on the train to New Orleans. Thomas treated me like a queen. He told me about his house and servants and how I would have everything I ever desired...” Hannah’s word trailed off and her hands shook as she held her coffee, spilling some onto her fingers. She didn’t flinch but Maddie jumped up and grabbed a cloth, wiping the spill.

The haunted look in the girl’s eyes tore at Maddie’s heart. “When we arrived in New Orleans, it was late at night. Thomas took me to a…” Hannah swallowed hard, “a gaming house of sorts. We went around the back and he led me to a nice office that had a bed in it. He explained he knew the owner and we could sleep there and would leave for our new home in the morning.”

Hannah’s lips trembled as she lifted the cup to her mouth. “He told me to go to sleep while he went to talk to the owner. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. I woke up once or twice because the noise was so loud. Even though Thomas still hadn’t returned, I was able to fall back to sleep both times. When I woke a third time, I saw him was sitting at the desk with a drink in his hand just staring at me. The look on his face scared me. I asked if everything was okay. When he didn’t answer I asked if we would be leaving for his house soon.”

Tears filled her eyes as she continued, “He was drunk. He snickered, finished off his drink and then laughed. He made me follow him into the main room. It had poker tables, a faro table, a roulette wheel, and a long bar where drinks were being served. There was a mirror the whole length of the bar and in the corner was a piano. It smelled of stale cigar smoke, unwashed bodies, and cheap perfume. I followed him upstairs. Thomas opened a door that led to a room at the farthest end of the building.” Hannah wiped her tears away. “I wouldn’t go in. When I asked him what this was all about, he grabbed my arm and pulled me inside then shut the door behind us and leaned against it. He told me I was one of the most gullible of all the…the whores he’d ever picked up.” 

A string of colorful words from the staircase caught both Maddie and Hannah’s attention. Samuel stood there, his face a mask of fury.

Hannah stood up quickly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were there.”

“Did you report that son...,” Samuel stopped and composed himself, “that man to the authorities?”

Hannah’s gaze fell to the floor. “No. I don’t think it would have done much good, besides,” she stood as tall as she could, stuck her chin in the air and looked Samuel in the eye, “after what I did the authorities would probably have thrown me in jail.”

Chapter EIGHTEEN

Nobody moved until Samuel went to grab his jacket from a peg. “I’ll be in the barn. I surely didn’t mean to interrupt and I’m sorry for buttin’ in.”

“Please wait, Mr. Morrison.” Hannah sat back down. “I would like for you to hear the rest of this.”

Hanging his coat back up, he sat down next to his wife. “Mr. Morrison is my pa. My name is Sam or Samuel.”

She nodded, smiling slightly. “When I told Thomas I wouldn’t stay, he told me to go. I was shocked. I asked where my things were and he said I had no things, that they were gone. He had taken my bags and stolen the money I had saved. I have nothing.” Hannah rubbed her temples.

“Do you want to finish this later?” Maddie asked.

Hannah shook her head. “He told me there were dresses in the wooden wardrobe and that the next day, I would be expected to be dressed in one of them and my job was to be nice and get drinks for the customers, for the men.” Hannah cleared her throat. “So that’s what I did.”

Maddie put her hand over Hannah’s. “There’s nothing illegal about that, Hannah. Sometimes women just have no choice.”

Hannah continued as if Maddie hadn’t spoken. “The first night, Thomas didn’t like the way I was dealing with the customers so he showed me how displeased he was.

When I came to—”

Maddie gasped. “He hit you?”

Hannah nodded. “There was a girl that worked there. Her name was Annie and her eye socket was crushed in and her eye color was a bleary white. When I woke up she was tending to me. She told me that Thomas had brought her here also and when she told him she wouldn’t do as he’d bid he hit her so hard she lost her eye. She couldn’t work in the gaming house because of the way she looked so she was now cleaning and laundering the girls’ clothes. She warned me never to cross him because he wouldn’t think twice about doing to me what he did to her.”

“There’s no need to talk about this anymore, Hannah,” Samuel said. “We understand what you’ve been through.”

“Please let me finish. You both need to hear it all. I was so afraid that I did what he told me to do but down deep, I thought I deserved it all. I was naïve enough to think some man could just fall in love with me after chatting on the train and naïve enough to blindly follow him anywhere.” Hannah stood and paced. “On the top floor were the rooms where some of the girls would…they would…some girls got paid for doing certain favors for men.”

“What kind of favors?” Maddie asked, confused.

Hannah looked to Samuel and he took over for her. “Sweet, the girls would have sexual intimacy for a certain amount of time with any man who could pay.”

At first Maddie looked perplexed, then her eyes grew wide and her face burned. Maddie bolted to her feet. “Oh no. Did he make you…?”

“Please, Maddie, let me just get this out while I’ve got the courage.” Hannah’s expression was pleading.

Samuel pulled Maddie back down into her seat. “Go ahead, Hannah.”

“I stayed to myself for the most part, but Annie and I did become friends. Thomas didn’t bother me too much but he always watched every move I made. I learned early if I smiled and was nice, the men would give me extra money. I learned how to watch to see if the men were winning or losing. Using that information, I approached them with sympathy or excitement. My intentions were to do what I had to do to save enough money to get out of New Orleans but I would never do what the girls upstairs did.”

“About a week ago one of the customers grabbed my arm and pulled me onto his lap. He was an old man who came in all the time. His name was Pete. He was usually a sweet old guy who treated me with respect, but this particular night he had too much to drink. Thomas came over and pulled me away from him, then beat that old man senseless.”

A tear ran down Hannah’s cheek. “Pete was almost like the grandfather I never had. He said I shouldn’t be working there. He would tell me to find a nice man and get married and have babies. I screamed for Thomas to stop, but he backhanded me and told me to shut up and get back to work.”  Hannah wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I don’t know what happened to him.”

Hannah picked up her cup but her hand shook so badly she had to steady it with both hands. “Thomas kept watching me and throwing down drinks. Jack, who was the man behind the bar in the evenings, told him maybe he should layoff the liquor for a while. Thomas grabbed him by the collar and told him to mind his own business and if he didn’t like it, then he should find another job. Thomas is an evil man. Everybody’s afraid of him. I’m so embarrassed that I was stupid enough to fall for his smooth words.”

“I went to my room and made my mind up that I was leaving. I had a little money saved and I would go as far as it would take me. Then Thomas pounded on my door. I told him to go away. The lock broke and the door crashed open when he kicked it. ‘You don’t tell me what to do. But since you want to act like a whore, you might as well be one and start making me more money.’”

Hannah clenched her fists. “I knew what he meant. He staggered toward me and said he would have to make sure I knew exactly how to do my new job and lunged at me. I was able to side-step him because he was so drunk. I grabbed a pitcher full of water and bashed his head with it. He went down, blood gushing. Annie must have heard the noise because she came running in. She saw Thomason the ground and looked at me. I told her what he did. Annie took a knife from her boot and…,” the blood drained from Hannah’s face, “and slit his throat.”

Hannah held her hand up gesturing for a few seconds to compose herself, then continued. “Annie turned him over and searched his pockets. He had a roll of bills. She counted it out and stuffed some into my hands. She told me to stay put and ran out of the room. It felt as if she was gone an eternity. When she returned she was with Jack and was holding this dress that I’m wearing right now, in her arms. She gave it to me and told me to change into it, which I did without question.”