Stuart shook his head. Scattered all over the counter were ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, little red candies. There were bowls, whisks and pans. The oven was heated up. It was still dark outside. He looked again at the recipe cards. One was for icing, the other was for birthday cake. The top of the recipe box had so much dust on it when he found ( Read more... )

Elizabeth rushed up the stairs and laid Cora in the crib. She could hear the men arguing louder and louder downstairs. She closed the door to Cora's bedroom and raced to Stuart's office and unlocked the drawer that held the pistol. She made sure it was loaded and hid it in her dress pocket, then she stood at the top of the stairs, listening ( Read more... )

It was suppertime and the Olsens had arrived. The tables were set and the beef stew, biscuits, green salad, tea, coffee, water and baked sugared apples were set out on the tables. The main dishes were under domes and there were tea and coffee things on each end of the main table. The rug had been taken out from under the main dining room table to ( Read more... )

A week had passed and it was now Sunday again, early morning. It was early June now and the weather had become hot ever since the rains had stopped midway through the week. Violet and Hannah had gotten over their cold by Thursday, but still rested in bed until Sunday by Emily Bronson's doctoral advice. She thought that even though they did feel ( Read more... )

The two families had joined up again and began to talk. Violet told Alice, Otis and Olga all about Doctor Bronson. "She is a midwife, but she is well educated on general doctoring. She trained in New York City. She charges very fairly for visits and medications and she knows how to prescribe properly. She said the Quack - Hansen - was doing ( Read more... )

All through Sunday, the rains swept over Richmond and its outskirts like a great, wet broom. They swept away all the dust and filth from the city and filled the creeks and rivers with fresh flowing water. Any mark of evidence that the Scoundrel had ever been on Dixon property was wiped clean. Thunder and lightning came down heavily. A man about two ( Read more... )

At one o'clock, Julia came over and began teaching Elizabeth how to bond with Cora, even without having a way to feed her. They closed the door, and Elizabeth took down the top of her dress, then took off her underclothes except for her camisole. Julia instructed her to hold Cora, who only had on a diaper, up against her bare skin. Elizabeth did ( Read more... )

At five o'clock, Elizabeth and Stuart got up and dressed quickly. Alda and Geoff wouldn't be up for another hour. Stuart unlocked the stable and brought out Horace and Mabel's horses and carriage and brought them to the back door. He locked up the stable. He woke Horace and Mabel who had overslept. They brought all their luggage downstairs in one ( Read more... )

After Stuart spoke with Dr. Emily Bronson and told her what happened to Violet and what state she was in, Elizabeth suggested that he go get washed up and changed, so he did. First, he cleaned his mud-caked boots in the sink and set them on the shoe rack, then he went upstairs to get clean night clothes. He carried them downstairs and waited for ( Read more... )

Lightning flashed and crashing thunder followed, rolling and fading away. Rain began pattering hard on the windows and the side of the house ( Read more... )