Sleigh Ride (Homespun) (3 page)

Millie smiled at her.  “Thank you.  That’d be nice.”

Charlotte shrugged on her coat, and they went out into the cold morning together.  Millie showed her all the places the hens liked to hide the eggs, and they laughed as they competed to see who could find the most, as they had in the orphanage.  Once the basket was full, they rushed back into the house.  George had already started the stove to heat the room.

He didn’t say anything, just went out the door and into the yard.  “Where’s he going in the cold?”  What was wrong with these people?  They couldn’t sleep until the sun was up or stay in where it was warm.  Well, since the stove had just started heating it definitely wasn’t warm yet, but it was better than it was outside.

“He’s milking the cow.  We need the fresh milk for breakfast,” Millie explained.  She cracked all but three of the eggs into a mixing bowl and held it against her huge stomach as she mixed them quickly. 

“What are you making?”  Charlotte watched her carefully so she could hopefully do this on her own tomorrow.

“Scrambled eggs.  We have scrambled eggs and toast every day, but Sunday.  I make pancakes on Sundays.” 

“What should I do to help?”  Charlotte wished she could just take over and tell Millie to sit, but she had no clue how to put breakfast on the table.

Millie wasn’t used to having help with breakfast.  She always let Patience sleep in a bit, knowing the girl needed her sleep.  No matter how old she acted, she was still only seven.  “Why don’t you put the skillet on the stove with a pat of butter to get it heating?  And then you can cut up slices of bread and butter them.” 

Charlotte went to work on the bread after setting the skillet on to heat.  “Where should I put them once they’re buttered?”

Millie set the eggs down and handed her friend a long pan.  “Just lay them on there and we’ll put the pan in the oven.”  She added salt and pepper to the eggs and mixed them some more.  “I’m going to go wake the children.  As soon as you’re finished, put the pan into the oven.”

Charlotte had never really used an oven before, because she’d rarely helped out in the kitchen at the orphanage.  Her job was always the mending and sewing of the children’s clothing, because she’d shown skill at that from a very young age.  She’d never volunteered to do more work or learn extra things as Millie had.  She took the rag Millie had used for opening the oven and opened it and slid the pan inside.  She then closed the door, hoping she’d done it correctly.

George came back and set the milk on the work surface while Millie was waking the children.  When Millie came back, she mixed in the milk, and poured the eggs into the heated pan.  “Would you like me to watch the eggs?”

Millie nodded smiling.  “Just stand over them and use a spoon to push them around to keep them from sticking to the pan.”

Millie took down the plates and efficiently set the table, watching her friend out of the corner of her eye.  Charlotte was here to help, yes, but she was also here to learn the skills she needed to be a good wife.  Millie was happy to be the one to teach her.

By the time the children were dressed and at the table, the eggs and toast were done.  Charlotte served them all, while Millie poured milk into all the cups.  Charlotte had watched carefully as Millie stirred the eggs and added the seasoning and milk.  She was sure she’d be able to make breakfast for them the following day without help from Millie.

The family ate quickly.  Once breakfast was done, Millie stood to clear the table, but Charlotte stopped her.  “I’m here to help.  Why don’t you play with Grace while I wash the dishes?”  She noticed Patience immediately stood to help her.

Millie smiled, happy to have some time to just sit and play with Grace.  They talked quietly and stacked some empty spools while Charlotte and Patience worked.  Patience was looking at Charlotte with a new respect today which pleased Millie.  She knew Patience had been annoyed with Charlotte yesterday, and she understood why, but she felt Patience needed to show every adult respect.

Once the dishes were done, Patience sat at the table, once again studying her schoolwork.  Millie gathered the ingredients to bake the cake she’d promised George she’d be making today.  She no longer needed the recipes she’d written out, but she took them out and showed them to Charlotte, and the two women mixed the ingredients together, Charlotte carefully following the instructions.

Millie sat and watched, softly explaining each step as her friend did the work.  Once the cake was in the oven, Millie uncovered a pot of beans she’d soaked the night before.  “I’m going to make a big pot of beans for lunch today.”  She turned to Patience.  “Would you go down to the cellar and bring back some bacon for me?”

Patience immediately rushed off to do as she was asked.  Charlotte looked at Millie with a smile.  “She’s a blessing.  She’s such an obedient child, and so willing to work!”

Millie nodded.  “She was like that when I got here.  I take no credit.  I’ve taught her to do a lot of things, but she’s really been a help in so many ways.”

Once Patience was back with the thick slab of bacon, Millie sat at the table and began cutting it into small chunks.  “I’d normally stand as I do this, but I’m trying to stay off my feet as much as possible.”  She felt badly for not being able to show Charlotte the proper way of doing it.

Charlotte looked around for another knife.  “I can help cut it.”

Millie shook her head.  “I can do this easily.  Would you mind making the beds and sweeping the rooms for me?” 

Charlotte looked at her for a moment and nodded.  She hated cleaning, and Millie knew it, but it was something needing to be done, and Millie shouldn’t do it.  Patience was probably old enough, but she needed to be doing her schoolwork.  George had the boys with him again. 

As she swept, Charlotte thought about all the things necessary for keeping a small house going.  Between the cooking and the cleaning and the mending, Millie didn’t seem to have much time to do anything else.  Would her life be like that if she married James?  There just seemed to be so many more chores to be done here than there were back in Boston.  Of course, being raised in an orphanage was different.  There were so many hands to do the work it seemed to always make the job lighter.

When Charlotte was finished, she returned to the kitchen just as Millie was putting all the pieces of bacon into the water with the beans.  She moved the pot onto the middle of the stove to begin the long cooking process.

“The cake should be ready to come out of the oven.  Do you want to do it, Charlotte?”

A worried look crossed Charlotte’s face, but she nodded.  Carefully opening the oven, she removed the cake and set it on the work surface to cool.  “Will we put icing on it?”

Millie shook her head.  “I usually just put some preserves on top.  It’s tastier that way.  We have apple, strawberry, blueberry, blackberry or grape.  Which would you prefer?”

“Blackberry sounds good.”  Charlotte had always been partial to blackberries, and desserts weren’t exactly abundant in the orphanage.

Millie smiled.  “We’ll send Patience down for some blackberries after lunch.”

“I’ll go now, Mama.”  Patience got to her feet to run to help.

Millie shook her head.  “I want you to concentrate on your schoolwork if you can.”  She stood and retrieved her sewing basket from along the wall.  “I thought we could sew until it’s closer to lunchtime.”

The two women worked and chatted happily until almost noon.  Charlotte loved this kind of work, but didn’t much care for housework.  Cooking was something she was unsure of, but she knew as she gained proficiency, she wouldn’t mind it much.

“So tell me where James will take me as we court.”  Charlotte tried not to sound too eager, but meeting James was all she could think about.

Millie shrugged.  “Most of the courting around here is done with a chaperone in a buggy or on a sleigh.  He’ll probably come for you, and we’ll send either Patience or one of the boys out with you.  You’ll drive for a few hours, and then he’ll bring you home.  You can invite him for a meal if you’d like.  There isn’t much more than that to do.”

Charlotte sighed.  She didn’t feel all that strongly about needing a chaperone, but she was living under George’s roof, and if he thought she needed one, she’d take one.  She meant to talk to him about it, though, and see if he would be okay with her going alone. 

“Do you think he’ll call for me on Sunday afternoon?”  Millie had already explained that Sunday was the only day of rest.  Only housework and chores were done on Sundays.  No farm work could be done at all.

Millie laughed.  “From the way he was talking last Sunday, he’s already mapped out the route he wants to take you on.”  Her eyes twinkled at her friend.

Charlotte blushed.  “I hope I can live up to his expectations of me.”

“You will.  I think he’ll just be happy if you can cook a few basic meals, and he can quit eating at Bess’s house for supper every night.”  She paused and winked at her friend.  “I know that would make Bess happy.”

“Because she wants her house to herself or because she gets tired of cooking for an extra person all the time?”

“Yes!” 

Both women dissolved into laughter.  Patience looked up from her book with a grin.  Her mama was serious too much.  It was nice to see her laughing with her friend.

Millie looked at her friend.  It was so hard for her to ask for help, even though she knew she really needed it.  “Would you mind making the cornbread for lunch?  I’ll walk you through how to do it.” 

Charlotte nodded reluctantly.  It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help Millie, because she did, but she wasn’t sure exactly how to go about cooking, and doing things she was unsure of made her uncomfortable.  Of course, it was better to learn with her friend coaching her than it would be as a new wife with a husband who needed to eat every night.

She took down the bowl and gathered the ingredients Millie told her to get.  She broke the first egg, and had to fish the shells out of the bowl.  “Are you sure you want me doing this?”

Millie grinned.  “You just need practice.  You’ll be a great cook in no time.”

Patience looked skeptical, but didn’t say anything.

Once the cornbread was in the oven, Millie stood and gathered their sewing into her sewing basket to set off to the side of the room.  She took out the dishes to set the table.  After a moment, Charlotte took the dishes from her.  “Why don’t you just rest while I do this?”

Millie nodded gratefully and sank back to her seat.  Grace had been playing quietly in the corner all morning and came over to climb onto Millie’s lap.  “Mama?”

“Yes, baby?” 

“I want the baby to come so you’ll have a lap again.”  She rested her head on Millie’s shoulder hanging on tightly for fear she’d fall off.

Millie laughed and hugged Grace closer.  “I know, Gracie.  It’ll happen soon.  Of course, then the baby will be on Mama’s lap a lot.”  She didn’t want the little girl to think she’d always get to sit on her lap once the baby was born.  She didn’t want her to resent her younger sibling.

Grace nodded.  “I know.  But when it’s my turn, I can have a whole lap.”

Patience removed her schoolbooks from the table and took them into her room.  She helped Charlotte finish setting the table, and put the butter on and the milk as well.  Once the cornbread was done, Patience went out to call her brothers and father to eat.  They all stomped their feet at the door to remove most of the snow, and came inside. 

George sniffed the air.  “Smells good.  Is that cornbread?”  George loved to eat cornbread with his beans.

Millie nodded toward her friend.  “Charlotte made it.” 

George smiled at Charlotte.  “Thank you for helping out so much while she’s having to rest.”  He was so glad the Bible verses had helped her.  He wouldn’t have been able to let her stay if she was just causing more work and not helping.  Millie wasn’t healthy enough for that.

“I’m happy to help.  I just wish I knew more about cooking.  I’ve never done much of it, so I feel a little nervous.”  Charlotte was a little embarrassed to admit that, but she wanted him to understand her better.

“We’re happy to have you practice on our family.”  He washed his hands at the basin before sitting down.

After their lunch, Charlotte and Patience did the dishes while Millie lay down with Grace for a few minutes to help her sleep.  After she’d closed the door quietly behind her, Millie looked around the main room.  Everything looked just right.  Patience and Charlotte had worked to make sure all the cleaning was done in the few minutes she’d been with Grace.

Millie thanked her friend and hugged Patience.  “You’ve been the best daughter I ever could have dreamed of.  Thanks for taking care of me.”  Over Patience’s head she mouthed the words “thank you” to her friend.

Patience smiled her pleasure at the compliment and went to get her schoolbooks.  She would study until Bess came, but then she got to participate in the women’s conversation, which was something she always looked forward to.

Charlotte was nervous and kept smoothing down her dress.  Millie was so engrossed in her sewing she didn’t notice the first few times.  Finally she said, “Stop fidgeting, Charlotte!  Bess is going to love you as much as I do.”

Charlotte laughed at herself and sat down at the table to do her sewing as well.  She’d almost finished the first gown.  Millie had purchased enough fabric for five, so she would do as many as she could.