In Name Only (56 page)

“It’s Will, Mrs.
Carver,” Caroline offered.

Caroline watched
curiously as Mrs. Carver said, “You look so handsome today, Will.”  He shook
his head and scowled at her.

Mrs. Carver
leaned close to Caroline’s ear and spoke quietly.

“Mrs. O’Donovan,
I wanted to say that what you’re doing is admirable. This must be so
difficult.  It’s as if no one has anything better to do than gossip.”

Caroline nodded. 
“Yes, it has been hard.”

Across the
street, four women whispered and pointed with haughty disdain.  Mrs. Carver
frowned, then walked briskly toward the group. “Do you ladies not have anything
more fruitful to accomplish than to relish in Mrs. O’Donovan’s heartache?”

The women lowered
their heads and hurried away.

“Thank you,”
Caroline whispered to Mrs. Carver.

“We’re ready,”
she heard David say.

“David, you
remember Mrs. Carver?”

“Oh, yes.  How
are you and Dr. Carver keeping?”

“Fine, Mr.
O’Donovan. If there is anything my husband and I can do for you, please let us
know.”

“Yes, thank you,
Mrs. Carver.”

*  *  *

In the carriage
on the way home, David held the sleeping John on his lap, his son’s face on his
chest.  Will leaned against his arm, his small, troubled eyes also beginning to
close.  David’s stomach growled, but that was the least of his worries.

He glanced at
Kathleen, who was sitting in the seat across from them.  She was quietly taking
her gloves on and off again.  Caroline was staring out the window.  For the
most part, she had been avoiding eye contact with him all morning, which he
supposed was better than looking at him with disgust.

He greatly
appreciated the comments from a client of his, a Mr. Stanford, who approached
him after Mass. He told David, “If there’s anything that my wife and I can do
for you and your family, please let me know.”  David had thanked him for the
offer, but more importantly, he wanted to tell him how grateful he was that he
did not treat him as an outcast.

David studied his
wife’s face. This whole experience was much worse because of what it was doing
to her.  He didn’t care about being snubbed or talked about.  And that sort of
talk generally didn’t bother Caroline.  Elizabeth and Edward and other
neighbors often advised them to treat Jane and Kip more like servants, but she didn’t
listen nor did she care.

However, David
knew that this type of gossip – the talking and whispering about his
unfaithfulness and illegitimate child – caused her great anguish. 
Please,
Father, give her the grace to be able to withstand this.

The knowledge of
his infidelity was still fresh, but he was confident that it would fade and
that Caroline would grow to love Will.

She must have
felt his eyes on her because she turned her gaze from the window and made eye
contact.  Caroline said nothing, but her sad eyes illustrated that she was
still in mourning, grieving for the happy, seemingly uncomplicated life they
had built together.  He wanted to promise her that he would do everything in
his power to bring that life back, no matter what the cost, but he kept silent.

“Mama, why didn’t
Mary come and talk to me today after Mass?”

Now, Caroline’s
eyes asked him, “What do I tell her?”

“Well, Kat,”
David began, “some people are talking about us taking in Will and many people
don’t like that we’ve done that.”  It wasn’t an outright lie, but he couldn’t
share the exact truth with her.

“But why?” she
asked.

“Well. . .”

“Is it why Mama
is crying a lot?”

David blinked his
eyes.  He watched Caroline for her reaction, which was to direct her gaze again
toward the window.

“Yes, I suppose
so, Kat.”

“Mama?”

Caroline looked
down at her daughter.  “Yes, Kathleen?”

“Are you mad at
Papa?”

“Kathleen, I. .
.”  Caroline’s voice was cracking. David could see that his wife’s eyes were
beginning to water.  She wiped them with her gloved fingers and continued. “Well,
maybe I’m a little mad at Papa.  But I promised God that I would love Papa no
matter what.”  Caroline then kept her eyes fixed on David.  Behind the sadness
and the pain, in her expression he could see the beginnings of forgiveness. 
Thank
you, God
.

Chapter 68

Just after
Christmas, Caroline and Jane pulled their coats closer to their bodies as they
stood together on the porch and watched the four children playing on the front
lawn.  Despite the cold air, the winter sun had melted the dusting of snow on
the ground.

“Can’t catch me,
can’t catch me,” Will was saying, then running off as Kathleen, John and Isaac
tried to reach him. 

“Will is a fast
runner,” the servant commented.

“He certainly
is.”

“And the children
are all having such fun.”

“I like to
treasure these moments, Jane.  They don’t happen often enough.”

“Missy’s boy is
adjusting so well.  He’s been here more than two months now and he’s hardly
ever bad any more.”

“I know he wasn’t
‘bad’ before, but he certainly must have been hurting inside to behave in such
a manner those first few weeks.”

“I’m glad you and
Mr. David didn’t see fit to beat him, although I know Mr. David swatted his
back end a few times.”

“I wouldn’t be
inclined to hit anyone, Jane, least of all my children.”

“Yeah, yeah,”
Kathleen said, as she finally caught up to Will and tapped him on the
shoulder.  “You’re so fast, Will.”

“I sure am.”

“Now I’m going to
run and you have to catch me, Will.”

“I go too,”
little John said.

“Yes, John, you
can try to catch me too.”

“Did you know
that Mr. David’s trying to arrange a trip away for the two of you?”

“Yes.  It’s just
that four children is a tremendous amount of work for you to handle and you
being with child.”

“Oh, you go on
about that.  I can handle ten children, if necessary.  I think it’s easier to
watch a lot of children than just one because they have each other to play
with.”

“I suppose
there’s a certain measure of truth to that, Jane.”

“Look, Ma’am,
there’s a carriage coming up the laneway.”

Caroline watched
a small buggy ride up to the front of the house.  A short rotund man got out
and approached the pair on the front lawn.

“I’m looking for
Mr. or Mrs. O’Donovan.”

“I’m Mrs.
O’Donovan.”

“I have a letter
to deliver to you, Mrs. O’Donovan.  It’s from the Sacred Heart Convent.  It’s
addressed to both you and Mr. O’Donovan.”

“Yes, thank you.”
Caroline took the envelope from the man.  He tipped his hat, then got into the
carriage.  As he rode away, Caroline stared at the letter. “Missy’s at the
Sacred Heart Convent, Jane.”  She opened the envelope and quickly pulled out
the paper.

December 28th,
1881

Mr. and Mrs.
David O’Donovan

Germantown
, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dear Mr. and
Mrs. O’Donovan:

We regret to
inform you of the death of Melissa Callahan last night.  Miss Callahan
requested that we send this letter to you when she passed on as you had offered
to handle funeral arrangements. Should we be of any further assistance, please
do not hesitate to write or visit us at the Sacred Heart Convent in Philadelphia.

Sincerely Yours
in Christ,

Sister Regina Joseph, O.P. Mother Superior

Sacred Heart
Convent, Philadelphia

“David said that
he would be home from the city by two o’clock.” Caroline’s voice cracked as she
spoke.

“She didn’t look
well two weeks ago.”  Jane wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.  “Are you
going to tell Will, Miss Caroline?”

“I don’t know. 
He’s come so far in just a few months.  I don’t think he’ll be able to handle
his mother’s death right now.”

“Missy didn’t
have any kin left.  Her parents have both passed and she didn’t have any
brothers or sisters.”

Several hours
later, Caroline waited in the foyer and watched for David. When she saw his
carriage pulling up, she stepped onto the porch to wait for him.  The sky was
clouding over and the cold wind blew against her face. As he rode closer, she
could see he was smiling at her.

He called to her
from the buggy, “Couldn’t stand to be away from me for a few hours?”

She regarded him
with tear-filled eyes.  She walked up to the carriage and held up the envelope.

“What’s this?”

Caroline took out
the letter and handed it to him.

As he read it,
his expression became somber, then he lowered his head.  “Rest in peace,
Missy.”

“Would it be
possible for you to return to the city and handle the funeral arrangements,
David?”

“Of course.  Kip
can take me in the larger carriage.  Would you like to come and say goodbye?”

“I would’ve
preferred to say my goodbyes before she died.  Two weeks ago, when I visited
her, she seemed so happy to hear that Will was doing better.”

“It would be nice
to have your company.  And we’ll be alone and uninterrupted for the hour or so
it will take us to ride to the convent.  It will give us a chance to pray and
talk together.”

“Very well.”

Chapter 69

“The children
will be fine with me,” Jane said.  “And you’ll only be gone this evening.  You
go and say your goodbyes to Missy and don’t you worry. Hearty is what my Ma
calls me!”

Caroline let out
a small laugh.  She had never known a woman who was so strong and normal while
carrying than Jane had been, first with Isaac, and now with this unborn child. 
She admired her, almost envied her, and figured that she was just one of those
robust women meant to bear many children.

Kip winked at
Jane and said, “See you tonight.”

She nodded. 

Caroline hugged
Kathleen, then John and Will.  David assisted her into the carriage. 

They spent the
first five minutes or so in silence.  Caroline offered up a few prayers for
Missy’s soul and together, they prayed the rosary for Missy.  When they
finished praying, Caroline noticed the small plaque above the door of the
carriage. “That the Divine Infant will light the road before you every night
and day.”

“It’s an Irish
blessing, Caroline.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, that is why
I had the plaque made.”  He paused.  “We will be taking this back  road,
Caroline.  It’s a faster way to get to Philadelphia, but almost no one uses the
road so it’s not as well maintained.”

“Are we in that
much of a rush, David?”

“No, but Kip and
I have been taking this road to avoid the many carriages on the main road.  And
it takes much less time.”

“Is this the road
you took me on years ago to be with Selly?”

David shuddered.
“Yes, it is.”  He paused.  “That seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed. It’s too
bad that the snow has melted already.” Caroline glanced out the window of the
carriage.  “I hope that we get more snow soon.”

All of a sudden,
there was a screech, a piercing snap, the carriage rocked back, then began to
roll over.

Caroline slowly
opened her eyes.  It appeared as if she was facing a wooded area of some kind,
but it was dusk and it was becoming difficult to see. 
Where am I?
  She
began to shiver, her teeth chattering.  The soft ground was damp and her dress
and coat seemed to be soaked right through.  She attempted to sit up but a
shooting pain in her shoulder forced her to lie back down.

She opened her
mouth to call for David, but no words would come out.  Finally, she managed to
say her husband’s name in as loud a voice as she could muster.  She heard no
response.  She carefully, slowly pulled herself up, wincing as she tried to
stand, then dropping back down again.  Caroline lifted up her dress and gasped
when she saw that her right leg was scraped from ankle to thigh.  Other than
that, she seemed to have no other injuries, apart from the pain in her
shoulder.

She turned
around, then let out a startled gasp when she saw their carriage on its side
with no sign of the horses.