The Baby Bequest

Then, in spite of the sorrow that never quite eased, Kurt began teasing Johann about how much peppermint he thought he could eat at one time.

Things would get better. They had to.

* * *

Riding on the wagon bench, Ellen dreaded being put on display for all of Pepin today, nearly a week after arriving. But the men had decided to hold a community-wide workday on the school and attached living quarters, and she must attend and show a cheerful face to all. In light of the wound she carried and concealed day by day, it would be one long, precarious ordeal. She had to portray confidence above all.

When the Stewards’ wagon broke free of the forest into the open river flat, she welcomed the broad view of the blue, rippling Mississippi ahead. She took a deep breath. The normally empty town now appeared crowded and her heart sank another notch—until an impertinent question popped up: Would Mr. Lang come today? Ellen willed this thought away.

Ophelia touched her hand. “Don’t worry. You’ll get to know everyone in no time and then this will feel more like home.”

Ellen fashioned a smile for Ophelia. If only shyness were her worry. “I’m sure you’re right.”

“You met my friends Sunny and Nan last year. They are eager to make you welcome.”

Ellen tried to take comfort from her cousin’s words.

Ellen and Ophelia joined the ladies who were storing the cold lunch in the spring house behind the store. Then they gathered in the shade of the trees with a good view of the unfinished log schoolhouse and claimed places on a rectangle of benches. Small children rolled or crawled in the grass in the midst of the benches, while older children played tag nearby.

Though scolding herself silently, Ellen scanned the men, seeking Kurt Lang. He had made an impression on her and she couldn’t deny it. She also couldn’t deny that she resented it.

“Miss Thurston,” Mrs. Ashford called. “This is my daughter Amanda.” Mrs. Ashford motioned for a girl in a navy blue plaid dress, who appeared to be around fourteen, to come to her. “Make your curtsy to the schoolteacher, Amanda.”

The thin, dark-haired girl obeyed, blushing. With a start, Ellen recognized her as the girl she’d seen slipping downstairs to meet a boy on the day Ellen had arrived.

Ellen took pity on the girl, obviously enduring that awkward stage between girlhood and womanhood, and offered her hand. “I’m pleased to meet you, Amanda. Your dress is very pretty.”

Mrs. Ashford preened. “Amanda cut and sewed it all by herself. She is the age where she should be finishing up her learning of the household arts. But Ned and I decided that we’d let her go to school one more year, though she’s had enough schooling for a girl.”

Ellen swallowed her response to this common sentiment, quelling the irritation it sparked. Enough schooling for a girl. Her older brother’s wife, Alice, had the gall to tell her once that the reason Ellen had never “snared” a man was she had had too much schooling for a woman. I couldn’t stand my sister-in-law’s sly rudeness and innuendo a day longer. What would this storekeeper’s wife say if she announced that she intended to earn a bachelor’s degree and perhaps teach at a preparatory school someday?

Ellen limited herself to saying, “I will be happy to have Amanda in my class.”

The men began shouting words of instruction and encouragement, drawing the women’s attention to the schoolhouse. They were coordinating the positioning of four ladders against the log walls, two on each side. With a start, Ellen spotted Kurt Lang as he nimbly mounted a ladder and climbed toward the peak of the joists.

Ellen felt a little dizzy as she watched Mr. Lang so high up in the air, leaning perilously away from the ladder. An imposing figure, he appeared intent on what he was doing, evidently not the kind to shy away from hard work.

As she watched, a barefoot boy with black hair and a tanned face ran up, startling her. “You are teacher?” he asked with an accent. “The girls say you are teacher.”

“Yes, I am going to be the teacher. Will you be one of my students?” Was this Mr. Lang’s nephew?

He nodded vigorously. “I want school. I like to read.”

“Good. What’s your name?”

“Johann Mueller.” He pointed toward the school. “My onkel Kurt.” Then he pointed to a teenager standing by the ladders. “My onkel Gunther.” The boy said the name so it sounded like “Goon-ter.”

Ellen noted that Gunther, working with the men on the ground, wasn’t paying attention to the work going on around him. He was staring across at Amanda. She then recognized him as the young man Amanda had slipped out to see that first day she’d come to town.

Over the hammering, she heard Mr. Lang’s voice rise, speaking in German, sounding as if he were scolding someone. She caught the name, “Gunther.”

She saw Gunther glare up at Mr. Lang, then grudgingly begin to work again.

Ellen felt sympathy for the younger brother. Why was Mr. Lang so hard on him? He was just a boy, really.

Johann bowed. “I go. Goodbye!” He pulled on his cap, gave her a grin and ran toward the children.

Mrs. Ashford pursed her lips, looking peevish. “I hope you don’t have trouble with those Dutch boys.” She nodded toward the unhappy Gunther. “That one’s too old for school and Mr. Ashford told Mr. Lang so.”

Ellen agreed. A sixteen-year-old could stir up all kinds of trouble at school, not only for the other students, but for her. Mr. Lang, of course, probably hadn’t thought of this. She drew in a breath. “I’m sure he thinks it best for his brother.”

“Well.” Mrs. Ashford sniffed. “I think the homesteading law should have specified that land was only for Americans, not for foreigners.”

Ellen bit her tongue. The homesteading law had been designed specifically to attract people from other countries to populate the vast open area east of the Rocky Mountains. There simply weren’t enough American-born families to fill up those vacant acres.

Ellen recalled Mr. Ashford’s whisper that Kurt was respectable even if a foreigner. It must be difficult for Mr. Lang to face this prejudice against immigrants day after day. Even though she didn’t agree with Mr. Lang’s treatment of his brother, she felt a keen sympathy for him—he and his charges had a difficult path ahead of them in so many ways.

This very feeling of sympathy led Ellen to resolve to keep her distance from Mr. Lang as best she could.

* * *

Hours later, the lunch bell rang. The men washed their hands at the school pump and gathered around the tables. While the women served the meal, the older children were permitted to sit by their fathers and listen to the men discuss the progress of the school building.

Despite her decision to keep her distance, Ellen tracked Mr. Lang’s whereabouts and listened to catch his words.

For distraction, she insisted on donning an apron and whisking away empty bowls to replenish them. As she approached Mr. Lang’s table, she heard him laugh—his laughter was deep and rich. Just as she reached him with a heaping bowl of green salad, he turned and nearly swept the bowl from her arms.

“Tut mir leid! I’m sorry!” he exclaimed, reaching out and steadying her hold on the bowl with his hands over hers.

The unexpected contact made her smother a gasp.

“No harm done.” She set the bowl on the table and stepped back, slightly breathless. Perspiration dotted his hairline and his thick, tawny hair had curled in the humidity. She nearly brushed back a curl that had strayed onto his forehead. The very thought of it made her turn away as quickly as possible to get back to work.

As she made her way to the next table, she noticed Mrs. Ashford’s daughter pause before slipping into the trees. The girl looked over her shoulder in a furtive move that announced she was up to no good.

Ellen recalled how Gunther had earlier been staring at this girl. A kind of inevitable presentiment draped over Ellen’s mind. She glanced around. Gunther was nowhere to be seen.

What to do? After listening to Mrs. Ashford’s opinion of foreigners, Ellen didn’t want to think of the repercussions in this small town if someone found the two young people together. And she didn’t want people gossiping about Amanda—she knew how that stung.

She excused herself and followed Amanda into the cover of the trees, threading her way through the thick pines and oaks. She hoped the young couple hadn’t gone too far.

She also hoped she wouldn’t find them kissing.

When she glimpsed Amanda’s navy blue plaid dress through the trees, the young girl was testing the flexed muscle of Gunther’s upper arm. A timeless scene—a young man showing off his strength to a young, admiring girl. Innocent and somewhat sweet. However, that wouldn’t be how the Ashfords would view it.

At that moment, she heard footsteps behind her. She swung around to find Kurt Lang facing her. She jerked backward in surprise.

Before she could say anything, Mr. Lang glimpsed the couple over her shoulder. His face darkened. He opened his mouth.