Page 43
14
After breakfast, Erik and Nurse Foster saw to the expectant mothers while Leah gave instructions to one of the maids to make a room ready for Dr. Sjolander. The snow wasn’t letting up, and she was certain no one would be able to travel until the storm passed. Who could even say when that would be? She gave only momentary thought to the propriety of the situation. With the resident staff, and the fact that Erik was one of the house doctors, Leah could hardly see any problem with his temporarily taking a room.
When she let Cook know that Erik would be with them at least overnight and to plan on him being there for meals, the older woman seemed to find no fault in this and merely commented she would put a few more potatoes in with the roast.
After this, Leah went to the front windows to check the weather. The snow was still falling fast, although the wind had died down. The places Erik had shoveled were already covered again with several inches of snow.
To her surprise, a man was walking along the street and turned to hike up her drive. As he drew closer, Leah realized it was her oldest brother, Micah. She hurried to the door, broom in hand, and smiled. “Just out for a stroll?”
He laughed and waited while Leah swept the snow from his boots and pant legs. She helped him off with his hat and coat, then pointed him to a foyer chair. “Take off your boots and leave them there on that thick rug to dry out.”
Micah laughed again but did as she commanded. “You sound just like Mother.”
“And why not? We hear that from her every winter. I’m sorry I don’t have slippers awaiting you as she would have.”
Just then Mrs. Astor appeared. “Is there anything I can do to help, miss?”
Leah shook her head, but then it dawned on her that she had allowed a man in the house who wasn’t known to Natasha. And though Brigette knew him well enough, he wasn’t supposed to know she was here. “Have the young ladies remain upstairs for the time. Explain that there is a man in the house, other than Dr. Sjolander, and we will let them know when it’s appropriate for them to come down.”
“Yes, miss.”
“I didn’t know I was causing a fuss.” As he put his boots aside, Micah pointed. “Whose boots are those?”
“You aren’t causing too much of a fuss, and those belong to Erik Sjolander. He stopped by to check on my residents and let us know Grandfather is too sick to come. Apparently, he’s taken pneumonia, and their phone is out of order because of the weather.”
“Mother won’t be happy to hear that Grandfather is sick. She’ll probably have Father find a sleigh to take her to see him for herself.”
“Hopefully Father won’t let her go. It looks like it’s just terrible out there. Over breakfast, Erik said they hit horrible drifts, sometimes five to six feet high on their way to town from Uncle Evan’s. Of course, the wind has stopped for the time being, but with Uncle Evan clear on the west side of the city, I wouldn’t want her to risk it.”
“You’re right, it would be risky.”
“Come into the front room. I have a nice big fire going.”
Micah followed her and stood quite close to warm up his backside. Leah had to laugh. “You look like Father. He always starts with the back and works his way forward.”
“Well, right now it’s the coldest part of me.”
Leah took a chair. “So, what brought you out to brave the cold?”
“Mother said I should come and make myself useful to you. Shovel snow, bring in firewood, and all that stuff and nonsense. She knows you have staff but no men to help.”
“Erik shoveled for me earlier, but I’m sure we’ll need to see to it again.”
“No doubt.”
“Well, I’m grateful for the help. It doesn’t look like the snow is planning to let up anytime soon. Makes me grateful I don’t need to be outside for any important reason.”
“I remember a time when I would have loved this kind of snow. I would have wanted to be out in it building a fort.” He turned to face the fire. “Now that I’m all grown up, I’m happy to stay inside and read.”
Leah smiled at his comment. “We would have been out there together with Clay building something impressive.”
“Then Father would have come out to help us and make it something bigger and better than we could ever dream of,” he added, glancing back over his shoulder.
“Yes.” She smiled at the memory.
“We had such wonderful times. Father was like a boy in his love of play. I honestly think he forgot all about his age when it snowed, and he became one of us.” Micah plopped into a stuffed chair near the fire.
“When do you have to go back to school?” Leah changed the subject, afraid of getting too sentimental. Remembering the old days would lead her to thinking about Susanna, and she wanted very much to leave bitterness behind.
