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“This way.” Nancy headed up the stairs, stopping at the last door on the right. “This was my room.”
“I appreciate you letting me use it,” Jessica said, trying to sound sweet to the child, though she didn’t feel even a little bit friendly with the way her day had gone. “I could share with the baby if I needed to. I’m sure I’ll be getting up with her in the night.”
“Good idea,” the child said. She walked to the first door on the right and opened the door. “This is the baby’s room. There’s a bed there for you to sleep in.”
Jessica looked at the bed and nodded. It was made for a child, but she was sure it would also work for her. She wasn’t much bigger than most children.
There was also a crib in the room for the baby, and though it may have seemed as if she was giving into Nancy, the truth was, she knew it would be easier with her in the same room with the baby.
“I’m going back to finish making supper,” she said.
Nancy just nodded, making Jessica wonder once again what she’d gotten herself into. The children weren’t friendly. Their father wouldn’t look at her. Their grandmother had left without a word as soon as she’d arrived. It seemed utterly ridiculous how alone she felt, but what she really wanted was to sit and talk about her situation with her mother and cry.
Hurrying to the kitchen, she found the potatoes boiling and glanced at the clock again, so she’d know when they were done. She put the ham in the oven to heat, peeled the carrots and started them boiling in a second pot.
Bertie came in to stand and watch her cook. “Do you like to cook, Bertie?”
“Boys don’t cook,” was the only answer she received. It was ridiculous how close-mouthed the children were when it came to talking to her.
“Do you have chores?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I need to milk the goat, so the baby will have milk.”
Jessica smiled. Now she knew what went into the baby’s bottle and hadn’t even had to ask. Maybe things would work out for her after all.
Chapter Three
Jessica drained the potatoes and mixed up a white sauce, making creamed potatoes her favorite. Then she rushed upstairs to wake little Joe. The children still hadn’t really spoken to her, but they stood and watched everything she did.
Once Joe was awake, she moved the carrots to the center of the stove to cook faster, and moved the potatoes to one side to stay warm, but no longer cook.
As soon as she felt like supper was under control, she hurried through the house, collecting the dirty clothes and children’s books from the floor. She would have to do laundry the following day, which would be a challenge with the two small children. She just hoped Joe and Sally would be well enough behaved she could get the work done.
She put the dirty clothes into a basket, and then gave the children their schoolbooks, instructing them to put them away and never leave them in the middle of the floor again.
Nancy looked angry, but she marched up the stairs with her books, though Jessica could hear her door slam as she hurried around picking things up as she could.
Joe sat at the table, looking as if he needed another three hours of sleep, but she couldn’t let him sleep that long and expect him to sleep at bedtime as well.
She woke the baby, which she was reluctant to do, but it would be best if the child was fed before supper.
At the table there was a highchair that looked as if it had been handmade, and she was certain that was where little Sally sat during meals.
She put the baby into the highchair and swept under the table quickly. She had a hard time understanding why George’s mother had left the house so filthy instead of gathering women around to help get the place ready for Jessica. It truly looked as if the dining area and kitchen hadn’t been swept in months.
When she asked Nancy to set the table, the child glared at her. “Didn’t you come here to do the housework?”
“I did. But I only got here a few hours ago, and I’ve made supper and done many other things. I would appreciate your help with setting the table.”
Nancy stomped around as she set the table, obviously unhappy with Jessica, but just for a moment, Jessica refused to care. She should be the one stomping around angrily with the way the family had treated her, but instead she was doing the work that needed to be done for her new family, who were relying on her.
When George opened the door, he immediately stomped the dirt off his boots there in the house’s entryway instead of taking them off outside as her father had always done. “I can sweep it again later,” she mumbled to herself as she put the food on the table for supper.
He said nothing about how the house looked, and neither did he greet his children. He didn’t even look at Jessica. Instead, he walked into the kitchen and washed his hands using the pump there, before walking back out to the table.
He sat at the head of the table and Jessica sat at the foot with the baby beside her. She had a small bowl for the baby, and she chopped up some of the potatoes and carrots into the bowl so they could cool down during their prayer.
When the children started to fix their plates instead of waiting for a prayer, she knew this family was in trouble. “Aren’t we going to say a blessing over our meal?” she asked.
