“Is she right about the others?” I asked.
Merry nodded. “We see glimpses from time to time. It’s only women and children down there from what I know. They have no one to turn to if they’re without a man.”
“Even if they would come to town, could they?” I asked. “I mean, how would they get here?”
“I could bring them,” Harley said. “If Lord Barnes agreed to it.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I said. “For now, we’re focused on this evening. If anyone shows.”
“We’re here,” Harley said.
“If it’s only you two, we could have stayed home and been warm,” I said, smiling as I walked over to stand by the heater.
Merry took my place by the windows. “Here comes someone,” she said. “Two actually. The Higgins brothers.” She pressed her nose closer to the glass. “Oh no, I think they’re leaving. They turned around and are headed the other way.”
I rushed over to stand by Merry. She was correct. They each carried a lantern. In that dim light I saw fear on their faces. These giant men had risked the wilderness to come west but were too intimidated to come inside a schoolhouse?
“I’ll change their minds,” Harley said. He threw open the door and called out a hearty greeting. “Hey there, Wayne and Clive. You’re going the wrong direction.”
They stopped and slowly turned toward us. Clive raised his arm. “Evening.”
“Come on in,” Harley said. “Miss Cooper won’t bite.”
Wayne nodded and tugged his brother’s arm. “Right, yeah. We can’t stay the whole time, most likely.”
“No problem,” Harley said, and held the door open wider, which was making it even colder.
“Tell them to get in here before we all freeze to death,” Merry said. Always practical, I thought. And she was right. The stove was no good in this kind of cold.
The Higgins brothers stomped onto the porch. I went to the doorway to greet them. “Come in, come in.”
“Miss Cooper,” Wayne said, tipping his hat.
“Thanks for having us,” Clive said.
The two men plucked their hats from their heads and held them to their chests as they wiped their boots on the rug.
I told them to keep their coats on for now. “You’ll learn faster if you’re warm.”
They shuffled to the middle of the room and lowered themselves into the desks. “Told you we’d look ridiculous,” Clive muttered to his brother.
I bit back a smile. They were awfully large for the desks.
The next arrival was Mrs. Cassidy, a pretty woman with light red hair and a narrow face. Like me, she wore a threadbare coat and boots that had obviously been polished in an attempt to hide their age.
I welcomed her with a smile that I hoped conveyed warmth. “Keep your coat on,” I said. “We’ll need to stay warm.”
Mrs. Cassidy took off her hat and hung it on the rack, then took a seat with the gentlemen. Merry and Harley took their seats as well, and I went to the front of the classroom. “And so we begin.”
Harley made sure Merry and I were safely inside before driving to the barn to put away the horses. What a long day the young man had, I thought as I followed Merry into the house. The ride home had chilled me to the bone. If I’d been willing to spend money on myself instead of sending it all home, I would have bought myself a new wool coat and a pair of boots that hadn’t worn thin.
Oh well, I was home now. The day was almost done. Lord Barnes would be waiting up for me. It was nearing nine, so the children would be in bed already. As much as I enjoyed our nighttime routine, I was grateful to have no one but myself to put to bed. Mostly, I would be glad to spend time with Lord Barnes.
He appeared in the foyer. “Good evening, ladies. How was it?” He helped me off with my coat and hung it in the closet. I inwardly cringed when his fingers lingered on the threadbare fabric of my coat’s elbows.
I busied myself unpinning my hat. Why was it that poverty made one ashamed? It wasn’t that I hadn’t worked hard during my adult life and even before then. I put that thought aside as Merry answered Lord Barnes’s question.
Her eyes shone as she took the pins from her hat. “It was just as I imagined. The desks and books and the smell of chalk.”