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“Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison.
Still unhappy with their prank, Rhine said, “Susannah told me what happened.”
“Poor Willa,” Mary said. “As always, she’s the model of grace and forgiveness, but she did add a writing component to their punishment.”
Since Susannah hadn’t mentioned anything about writing, Rhine was confused. It must have shown on his face because Mary said to the boys. “Tell Mr.Fontaine what you are writing.”
Micah replied, “‘Dear MissWilla Grace. I will never play mean tricks on you again.’”
“And how many times do you have to write it?” she asked, turning to Christian.
He answered glumly, “One hundred times.”
“That should keep you out of trouble for a while,” Rhine said.
“We can only hope,” Mary replied. “Now, go and wash your hands so Mr.Fontaine can take you to Mr.Carter’s for your haircuts.”
Once they were gone, Mary sighed. “May the Good Lord give me the strength to survive those two. I’m sure they didn’t mean her any real harm, but they’re like wild colts sometimes. Don’t you want to do an old lady a favor and take them off my hands?”
Rhine laughed. He was sure she was pulling his leg but he wondered what his fiancée’s response would be were he to suggest they add them to their family. He also wondered what the state of Nevada would say about a White man wanting to take two little Colored boys into his home. “How did the interview go with the couple who wanted Lin?” He reached down and gently chucked the girl’s small chin. She smiled shyly and leaned into Mary.
“Not well. They wanted to raise her to be their housemaid, so of course I told them I wouldn’t allow it.”
She’d driven up to Reno to meet the couple. He found the outcome disappointing.
“So I guess my little family will stay intact for now,” she said. “Not that I mind.” She picked up Lin and nuzzled her neck. The child giggled.
The twins returned.
“Ready to go?” Rhine asked.
“Yes, sir.”
Mary reminded them, “Best behavior, remember.”
“We will,” they promised in unison again.
Rhine told her, “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
“There is no need to rush. Believe me.”
Chuckling, he led the boys outside to his carriage.
They were indeed on their best behavior, but then again, Rhine rarely had to rein them in when the three of them were together. They seemed to enjoy his company as much as he did theirs. As always, they asked him a hundred questions or more about everything from how the gaslighting worked, had he ever seen Jesus, to how old they had to be to drive the carriage. They then speculated on what kind of dessert they wanted Willa Grace to make for them once they shook off the shackles of their punishment and she started speaking to them again. Listening to their happy and endless chatter, Rhine thought back on Mary’s request that he take them off her hands, but he doubted the state would approve even if Natalie did agree to the adoption.
Inside the barbershop, Mr.Edgar Carter greeted them coolly. “What is this about snakes and Willa Grace’s bloomers?”
As Jim noted, there were no secrets in Virginia City.
The boys stopped. Christian, the slightly taller of the two, asked, “Who told you?”
“Never mind who told me. Is it true?”
Eyes downcast, they nodded like condemned men again.
“I thought you’d learned your lesson the time you used lamp black to give her new eyebrows and a mustache.”
Thinking back on that, Rhine’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. They’d altered her appearance one night while she’d been asleep. When she got up the next morning and glanced at herself in the mirror, she’d screamed at the sight of the heavy black brows and mustache. Mary had been none too happy and neither had Rhine, but once he reached home, he and Jim laughed until they cried.
