Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House(116)

“There is no need to repay us. It was our pleasure to help out a family member in a time of need.”

There was a quiet knock on the door before Miss Elly entered. “May I join you?” she asked.

“Come.” Miss Meg patted a space on the settee beside her.

“Your mother is settled in her room,” Miss Elly said to Miss Meg, then to me, “but she was in a fine temper, admonishing me for referring to you as my kin.”

I was surprised at the openness of both these women. Taking a cue from their honesty, I directed a question to Miss Eleanor. “Have you had recent word on your mother or . . . mine?”

“As a matter of fact, I have. Belle is doing very well. As usual, she is at my mother’s side and has no patience with what she calls my interference.”

“Your interference?” I asked.

“If you can believe this, Mother is actually considering marriage. Imagine!”

“She is?” I asked. “Have you met the gentleman?”

“Yes, many times. He is a neighbor of ours and has been ever since I can remember. He has four boys, all under the age of twenty. When I was younger, before I came to Aunt Meg’s school, I shared a tutor with the two oldest. Those two Stephens boys were impossible! Can you imagine my quiet mother with a houseful of boys, one more rowdy than the other?”

I smiled. “That does present quite a picture.”

“I’m afraid she’s going ahead with it and is planning a wedding. Can you imagine? A wedding! At her age!”

Miss Meg laughed. “Please don’t belabor the point, Elly. She is not that old. Don’t forget that your mother and I are of a similar age.”

“No one should marry in their forties!” Miss Elly shivered at the thought.

Miss Meg laughed and patted her younger niece’s hand. “We will attend the wedding in October and then must only let your mother know how pleased we are for her happiness.”

“Oh, Aunt Meg, sometimes you sound just like her!”

Miss Meg turned to me with a concerned look. “Are we truly so uncivilized that we would discuss our small family drama when you are having such a struggle with your own? Forgive us. Please.”

“On the contrary,” I said. “I would like to know more about you. I understand that you have a school?”

The two women glanced at each other, then grimaced. “We do,” said Miss Meg, “but we’ve met with some difficulty. Because of our liberal views, we are never certain the doors will stay open.”

“Your liberal views?” I asked.

“Last year we began to hold classes in the evening for Negro children,” said Miss Eleanor. “Some of the townspeople objected and withdrew their daughters from the day school.”

“Do you still hold the evening classes?” I asked.

“We do,” said Miss Meg, “but our enrollment for the day students is not what it once was.”

“So you require funding?” I asked.

“Always,” Miss Meg agreed. “Yet somehow we make it through each season.”

“Perhaps I can help,” I said.

“In what way?”

I looked down at my trousers. Although Robert had done his best, my clothes were travel-worn. “Though I may not give the appearance, I am a man of some means,” I said. “I would be happy to contribute.”

The two women exchanged a happy look, then smiled at me.

“We would be delighted to accept any assistance,” said Miss Meg.

“How wonderful!” agreed Miss Eleanor. “But—” She looked to her aunt. Miss Meg, acknowledging her niece’s stare, inhaled deeply, as though for courage.

“Mr. Burton. In light of your kind offer,” she said, “we would like to present an offer of our own.”

“Yes,” I said, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms while steeling myself for the question.

“We would like to keep young Caroline,” Miss Eleanor burst in. “Please say we may! These past months she has become the center of our lives. We are both in love with her, and we would like to raise her as our own.”

“It is true, she already feels like our own,” Miss Meg added.

I leaned forward. “But she is my daughter. She has my blood, you understand.”

“We do,” said Miss Elly, “and that is why we thought you might agree. She need never know!”

Though Robert had prepared me for this, a sickening note lay behind their offer. They were not disguising their intent; they were openly saying that my daughter would never know me as her father. Were they right? Was this, then, the best solution?

“I need time to think this through,” I said.

The women graciously assured me that they understood. We adjourned after I asked to be excused from the upcoming afternoon meal.

“Would you join us for a late super?” Miss Meg asked, then smiled. “We will be alone. Mother does not enjoy the evening meal with us.”

“I will be there,” I said, forcing a return smile.

I found Robert waiting in the hall and requested that he have Hester bring Kitty to my room. However, it was not Hester but another Negro woman who came with Kitty. Robert introduced her to me as the one who had come from Philadelphia to be Caroline’s wet nurse.