Rory's Promise (23 page)

R
ORY AND
S
ISTER
A
NN
A
S
A
T IN
A
N UNCO
M
FORT
A
BLE SILENCE. Before Rory could work up the nerve to tell Sister Anna that she and Violet were going to Mexico, a rumble of voices echoed in the hallway. Without a word, they both went to the door and peeped out. The corridor was filled with half a dozen white women speaking in very loud voices. They were all familiar from the train station, but to Rory's relief, Mrs. Gatti was not there.

They saw Sister Anna. “Where are the children?” they demanded.

“Close the door, Rory,” Sister Anna ordered.

Rory slammed it shut, but before she could adjust the bolt, the door crashed open and the women rushed in. “Where are you hiding the children?” asked the first woman through the doorway. Without hesitating, Rory leapt in front of Sister Anna, her fists raised the way she had learned long ago in Hell's Kitchen.

Sister Anna shouted, “Get out of my room this instant!” But for once, her authority failed her. The women paid her no attention except to pepper her with more questions.

“Where are the babies?” shouted one of the women. Another pushed forward, her hands on her hips, saying,

“We won't be leaving without the children.”

The leader of the group said, “It's our duty to save all of them.” Three other women flanked her, waiting for orders.

“You tell them, Mrs. Johnson,” said the first woman through the door.

“You can't have them,” Sister Anna declared. “These children are in my care and I decide where they are placed.”

“If you care about the children, you'll let us take them,” Mrs. Johnson said loudly.

“I don't care how much you shout.” Sister Anna stood firm. “My responsibility is to God and these children. I'll not jeopardize their immortal souls by placing them with heathens.”

“Heathens are we?” Mrs. Johnson screeched. “I'll show you heathens.” She advanced with her fingers out like claws.

Before her nails could reach Sister Anna's eyes, Rory dropped her shoulder and rammed Mrs. Johnson in the stomach. They both tumbled to the floor. Rory was quicker to her feet. “Sister Anna,” Rory said in a voice meant to be heard. “Send word to Sister Eileen to lock the church doors.”

“The church?” For a moment Sister Anna was confused, then she quickly understood. “That's not necessary. These women wouldn't dare violate a church!”

“The kids aren't here?” asked Mrs. Johnson.

“Do you see them?” challenged Rory.

“Ladies, to the church!” Mrs. Johnson stormed out.

As the women started to leave, Sister Anna said, “Rory, go tell Mr. Mills about this.” She paused. “Let him know I agree to his terms but the deal is off if anything like this happens again.”

W
hen Rory returned to the Sisters' rooms the intruders were gone. She slipped inside and found Sister Anna packing her small traveling case.

“Your Mr. Mills is very effective,” Sister Anna said. “He must be an excellent manager. I can't help but wonder if he sent those women here to convince me.”

Rory was silent; she had the same suspicions.

“Did Mr. Swayne and Father Mandin get on the train?” Sister Anna asked.

Rory nodded.

“Good,” Sister Anna said with satisfaction.

“So you're going back to New York?”

“What choice do I have?” Sister Anna asked bitterly. “I have to answer to the Foundling. And I can't justify losing all the children because I wanted to stay for the ones who were kidnapped.”

“Once you're in New York …”

“Then I'll bring all the legal and moral weight of the Foundling Hospital against this godless, immoral town.”
Sister Anna straightened to her full height—she looked unstoppable. Rory grinned. The town of Clifton didn't stand a chance once Sister Anna got back to her home ground. Rory wandered about the room, picking up small personal items and bringing them to Sister Anna.

“Shouldn't you be packing your own luggage?” Sister Anna asked, with a sidelong glance at Rory.

This was it. Rory took a deep breath and said deliberately, “I'm staying here with Violet.”

Sister Anna stretched her stiff back. “I thought you might be.”

“You did? How?” Rory exclaimed. “I didn't know until this morning!”

“It was your plan to go with Violet all along. Wherever she went.”

“Sister!” Rory was dismayed and admiring at the same time.

“The Martinezes are good people,” mused Sister Anna. “I could see that at our first meeting. Devout, kind, and hardworking. I couldn't choose better. Elena Martinez was the woman who wanted red-haired children, you know.”

Rory remembered that day back in Sister Anna's office. It felt like a hundred years ago.

“It almost seems as though God intended you to go with them.” Sister Anna reached up and tucked a stray red hair of her own back under the bonnet. She closed the case and buckled it shut. “But will the town let her keep you and Violet?”

“Ramon is going to take us to live with his family in
Mexico.” Rory crossed her fingers and waited for Sister Anna to explode.

“Mexico?” Sister Anna's voice shook. “That's too far.”

“Not so much farther than Arizona,” Rory pointed out. “And it's very Catholic.”

“The Foundling has no authority in Mexico,” Sister Anna said.

“Begging your pardon, but the Foundling's authority hasn't counted for much in Clifton. And that's still in the United States.”

Sister Anna frowned, and she suddenly seemed older and more discouraged. Rory dropped her eyes to the floor. After a moment, Sister Anna tilted Rory's chin up so she could see Rory's face. “Do you want to go to Mexico?”

Rory nodded. “Ramon put himself in harm's way to protect us. And he has a sense of duty too. Even though he wanted us to go to Mexico this morning, he stayed to help you and the others.” Rory fingered her mother's necklace.
“
We're already a family.”

“Yes, I can see that.” Sister Anna hesitated. “But I saw such a bright future for you in New York.”

“I appreciated the offer, truly I did, Sister,” Rory said. “But it went out the window when I thought of leaving Violet.”

“Since the day I met you, everything you've done has been about Violet.”

Rory lifted her shoulders. “She's my sister.”

Sister Anna nodded. “I worried at first. Your attachment
was almost too strong. I knew from experience we might have to separate you and I wondered how you would survive. But you were so clever—and worked so hard to stay with her. We laughed at all your little tricks to be useful. Indispensable even.”

Rory stared. “You knew?”

“Of course. But Rory, what you don't understand is that you can't fake goodness. You
are
a good girl. And you proved it today. You stayed to help us even though it would have been safer for you and Violet to just go.” Sister Anna turned her head away to look out the window. “I want you to know how proud I am of you. You are a true daughter of the Foundling and you will always have a place there.”

“But I'm still going to Mexico with Ramon and Elena,” Rory said stubbornly.

Sister Anna burst out laughing. “You'll go whether I give you permission or not, won't you?”

“I'd rather have it,” Rory said solemnly.

“Before I give my blessing, I want to speak to Mr. Martinez,” Sister Anna said.

“But …”

“Rory, I insist. For once, you are going to let the adults who love you make decisions for you. You can trust us.”

Rory stared down at her hands, rather than meet Sister Anna's watchful gaze. Did Sister Anna know that a warmth in her belly was spreading throughout her whole body? It would be grand to be taken care of! In her most respectful voice, Rory asked, “May I know what you will say to Ramon?”

“I'm going to insist that I always know how to find you.” Rory started to protest but Sister Anna silenced her with a steely glance. “For my personal records only. I'll send you news of the Foundling so you won't forget us. And more importantly, I'll send books so you can continue your education.” She paused. “There's one more thing …”

“Yes?”

“I'll make sure Mr. Martinez knows that you and Violet can return to the Foundling at any time. And perhaps, if you wish, when you are eighteen, you can come back and work for me.”

Rory did the sums quickly. She would be eighteen in six years. By then Violet would be almost twelve, the same age Rory was now. By then her little sister would be able to take care of herself.

“I can still have the job?” she asked breathlessly. “Really?”

“Really,” Sister Anna said. “Now, promise me you will write.”

“Sister, you're my other family. I promise.”

“There might be questions about Violet,” Sister Anna mused. “We'll have to adjust our paperwork so no one, either in New York or Clifton, questions where Violet is. You were never listed in our documents, so that's no problem.”

Rory stared at Sister Anna with new admiration. “You'd fib in your official record for me?”

“I will have to—otherwise, someone might come looking for you and Violet.” With a tired smile, Sister Anna said, “Luckily, Mrs. Chacon has already confused my records
beyond all recognition. That will be an excellent excuse.”

Rory looked up at this woman who had been her touchstone ever since her mother died. Never had she loved or respected Sister Anna more than in this moment. On an overwhelming impulse, she threw her arms around Sister Anna and hugged her tightly. Sister Anna stiffened.

“I love you, Sister Anna,” Rory whispered.

Slowly Sister Anna hugged her back. “I love you, too, Rory.”

Rory felt a dampness against her cheek but she dismissed it as her imagination. Sister Anna never cried.

E
arly the next morning, before the sun rose, the children ate their breakfast quietly in their rooms. A few asked about their missing friends, but most responded to the Sisters' mood and were quiet.

Sister Anna managed to meet with Ramon in the barbershop. When she returned, she seemed content. Rory was satisfied.

Their bags were packed and the children were dressed in their playclothes. A knock on the door revealed Sheriff Simpson and two men.

“It's time, Sister,” he said.

The Sisters and nurses brought the children downstairs to the empty lobby. Mr. Mills's men waited outside to escort them to the train a block away. Rory wondered why they bothered since the streets were empty. After everything they
had seen in Clifton, Rory found the silence unnerving. Sister Anna didn't seem to notice as she marshaled the adults and their charges like a general moving troops on a battlefield.

At the station, their car was hitched to an engine puffing smoke. Not a moment was wasted getting the children on board. Rory helped until only a few children remained. Poised on the steps into the car, she met Sister Anna's eyes. Sister Anna nodded.