The Captive Within (A Prairie Heritage, Book 4) (5 page)

The overgrowth in the yard shrouded much of the house’s
shape, but its asymmetrical profile—pediment-topped dormer windows, impressive
gables, and octagonal turrets—reached into the sky. Stained glass and
gingerbread eaves, only glimpsed through a morass of woody Virginia creeper,
tantalized the trio standing outside the gates.

The covered porch, which appeared to wrap the length of the
front, terminated somewhere near the corner of the house in the sizable gazebo
peeping through the overgrowth.

They stared at the estate before them awed by its size and
grandeur and half cowed by the evident decay and neglect. The day’s last rays
glanced off cracked windows, peeling paint, and towers with missing shingles.

“It is . . . gargantuan,” Grant exclaimed.
“It isn’t a house—it’s a
mansion
!”

“It’s perfect,” Rose and Joy answered together. They had
clasped hands at first sight of the house.

“It must be three times the size of the lodge,” Joy added.
“Why, how deep it must be for those turrets to belong to it!” She gestured at
the pointed towers peeping through the angles of the roof line.

Grant soberly commented, “It will take a great deal of cash
to make repairs. I daresay the plumbing and gas lines will need work. Look at
the roof! Billy and I can do the work, but we’ll still need materials.”

“I imagine all the rooms will need paint and paper,” Joy
mused. “Not to mention carpets.”

Rose shushed both of them. “I had intended to buy us a
house, remember? That money can now be used to make the repairs.” She suddenly
giggled. “But can you imagine what Breona is going to say?”

Suddenly Joy and Rose were laughing and hugging each other.
Still laughing, Joy threw her arms around Grant.

“We must obtain the keys as quickly as we can!” Joy said
breathlessly between chuckles.

~~**~~

O Lord, how I thank you. We have a house!

You have provided a house for our ministry, and what a
house! It must have been magnificent once, but it has been closed up for many
years. We must now open it to the light and bring to bear all of our care and
efforts to restore it.

Lord, you do that with us, too, don’t you? You bring your
light to our lives but still it takes care, effort, and time to restore us so
that we reflect your image, the glory for which you designed us.

Joy and I will call on Mrs. Palmer first thing in the
morning to thank her and arrange for the keys. Grant is hesitant and wants to
ensure that all of the legal issues are settled before we begin work on the
house. We will leave those matters in his hands.

Dear Lord, I miss Jan tonight. I miss his strength, his
wisdom, and his arms around me. I miss the warmth of his breath on my neck as
we sleep. Good night, Father God. I am so glad Jan is with you. I know we will
see each other again, someday.

—

Up until now, moving to Denver had been their dream, a
shining hope and vision Rose and Joy often spoke of but not in concrete terms.
Now it was time for the dream to assume shape and substance. Rose and Joy
called a meeting with Breona, Mei-Xing, and the rest of the girls and told them
about the house Martha Palmer was giving to them.

“It was once a beautiful house,” Joy said as she described
it. “And it is far larger than this one. It has three stories, several turrets
and towers, and a large attic. We don’t even know yet how many bedrooms it has,
but we are guessing 10 to 12, with room for more in the attic. It sits on a
large lot and has several out-buildings in the back.”

“It
was
beautiful once,” Rose cautioned, “but it has
been closed up for more than 12 years and, unfortunately, looks to have
sustained some serious damage. What we should be clear about is that whatever
work needs to be done, will fall mostly to us.”

She gestured to all of them gathered in the parlor. “Of
course this includes Grant, Billy, and Mr. Wheatley. Some repairs we must hire
out to be done. However, just cleaning the house so that we can move in will be
a colossal undertaking.”

The women began chattering and asking questions, their
voices rising in excitement. Rose held up a hand.

“Before we go any further, I think we should also describe
our vision for the house and clarify our expectations of you if you embark with
us on this journey. You see, just as we did at the lodge, we will manage our
home in a way that honors God.”

Some of the girls looked confused; a few looked at each
other nervously.

Joy spoke up. “Our goal is to help you learn a skill or
trade and then help you find employment so that you can support yourselves in
an honorable, independent manner. But that is not all we will teach you.”

“Yes, that is not all,” Rose agreed. “We understand that you
come from different backgrounds and have had different experiences. We will
show you how to dress, speak, and conduct yourself so that you are comfortable
and confident in whatever social situation you find yourself.”

Her voice softened. “A few of you were left on the street as
children and have never known what it is to have a family. Even as you prepare
to go out into the world and take care of yourself, we want you to become part
of
our
family. When the time comes for you to fly our little nest,
wherever you go and whatever you do, you will always be part of our family and
be welcome to visit.”

Mei-Xing timidly raised her hand. Rose smiled. “Mei-Xing,
did you wish to say something?”

“Er, yes. I only wished to say that at first, at the lodge,
the things we did together—the Bible studies, praying for God to meet our needs
and needs we saw in the community—were all strange and sometimes difficult for
me to understand.”

“But after a little while, I began to love our time together
and love the way we worked together like a family.” She stopped, a little
embarrassed. “I, well, I never had a family like that, a family that shared
every aspect of living. It, that is, I began to see what being part of a family
is supposed to be like.”

She looked at Rose. “I began to know what it was like to
have a mother who loved me and knew how to nurture me,” she looked from Joy to
Breona, “and sisters who cared for me and wanted God’s best for me.”

Tears sprang to Rose’s eyes. “That is what we are speaking
of. When we move to Denver, it is our hope that we will grow together and
experience those family bonds.”

She continued. “Everything we do in our home, we will do
together with care for each other. We will clean and cook together. We will
study and pray together. We will support each other through illness and
difficulties.”

“We will treat each other with respect and civility, even
when we disagree. Yes, we will not always agree or like what others do. We will
sometimes have little spats. But we will make up and never give up on each
other.”

As the girls were thinking over what Rose had said, Joy
added, “Miss Rose will live in the house with you while Mr. Grant and I will,
as soon as it can be readied, live in the caretaker’s cottage and Billy and
Marit in the carriage house. Miss Rose will be in charge of the house,
particularly its spiritual tone.”

“Breona will be the housekeeper,” Rose said. “She will
assign chores and manage the household.”

“All of us,” she added, “including me, will work. No one
will be exempt as long as they live in the house. All of us will take meals
together morning and evening and participate in Bible study and prayer at those
meals. I assure you, those times will not be arduous. Just as we have already
been doing the past few weeks, I intend to make them encouraging and engaging.”

She looked around at each girl. “This is what our
expectations are and what you must prayerfully consider. If you cannot agree to
abide by our expectations, then you must, in good conscience, decline our
offer. We will think no less of you and will still provide you with a train
ticket if you choose to go elsewhere.”

“I will go,” Mei-Xing volunteered first. “Of course, I think
you must have known my answer?” She smiled shyly, and Rose nodded and smiled
back.

“I will go, too!” Gretl proclaimed eagerly.

Then the table lapsed into silence. The remainder of the
girls considered Rose’s proposition soberly.

“We ask that you give us your answer no later than this
Friday,” Rose concluded.

—

So many things to do! Our remaining six Corinth girls,
Sarah, Gretl, Corrine, Flora, Nancy, and Maria, have accepted our proposal.
Tabitha will come, too, making seven. I had my doubts about her, our rough
little cob, but Friday she made a decision and will also accompany us.

My concern with Tabitha is that she is older than the
other girls, although exactly what age, she has not said. She may be Joy’s age,
but the life she has lived has worn her considerably, both inside and out. I
have been praying for the Lord to win her heart, for we can sense how hard and
empty of hope it is at present.

I do not forget Mei-Xing! Truthfully, Lord, I hardly
think of Mei-Xing as one of the girls, because you have done such a work in her
heart already and have knit her to me as a daughter. Breona, Mei-Xing, dear Mr.
Wheatley, and I will live in the house as we did in the lodge. I am so happy
Mr. Wheatley will be with us!

Marit and Billy and Joy and Grant will share the third
floor at first. It may be several months before the cottages out back are
ready. We realized, too, that we cannot have a baby with us at first; the house
is entirely too dirty. David and Uli will keep little Will until the house is
clean enough for him. As I said, Lord, so much to do!

Marit and Gretl will share the cooking initially, for we
will be feeding an army while we work on the house. Gretl aspires to become a
great cook for a wealthy family. Father, I thank you for the hope and vision
you have placed in her precious heart.

The house itself possesses more than enough space for our
needs at present. The problem, initially, will be readying it enough for us to
move from Corinth to it.

The dust is thick everywhere, and mice have made it their
home. A few rooms have cracked or broken windows and have sustained water
damage. Our little family will surely be “roughing it,” as I’ve heard someone
call it, sleeping on the floors before we are far enough along to bring in
furniture. My old bones do not relish the prospect, Lord!

After that will come a period of true renovation that may
well test our souls, for we must, of necessity, be shifting our bedrooms and
living space from room to room as the work goes on. I can’t help but believe,
though, that the sooner we leave the houses in Corinth for good, the better.
They are a constant reminder to the girls of the evil done within their walls.

Although some have suggested it, we do not wish to
appropriate any of the furniture from these houses nor should we. Until a court
decides what is to be done with the houses, they will remain unoccupied and
their furnishings unused.

Lord, I trust you. Perhaps working together to make our
house in Denver livable will help these young women to feel that it is their
home. As we begin this great endeavor, I am still humbled that you chose us to
minister to their wounds. Oh Lord, give us your wisdom, for we have none of our
own.

—

The door bell had chimed four times so far this evening, and
it was still quite early. Esther splashed whiskey into a short tumbler for the
portly gentleman seated across from her and then added a generous portion of
water.

Henry, already a regular customer, had spoken nonstop for
the last hour on the history of the monarchy in France and Britain.
He was content just to have a lovely, attentive ear. Esther was more than happy
to listen, smile, and nod at whatever dear Henry said. Oh, and refill his glass
with her overpriced, watered-down drinks.

Money was still very tight, but Esther was pleased so far
with the progress of their business. As their clientele grew, she would be
looking for fresh girls to add to the house.

The door bell chimed again and she rose gracefully,
murmuring her excuses to Henry. Tom, the only muscle she could afford at
present, answered the door.

His job was to screen potential clients. Only well-dressed,
well-groomed gentlemen were admitted. And only sober ones. Intoxicated men were
often unruly and were less likely to purchase drinks. Esther wanted only an
upscale,
thirsty
clientele.

Esther was ready to greet her customer after Tom cleared him
to pass through the large entryway. “Good evening,” she said pleasantly, eyeing
the tall, powerfully built man. He wore a charcoal three-piece suit and wore it
well.

“Good evening,” he replied. The man’s face was ruddy; his
eyes a strikingly pale blue.

Many men stared at Esther, some agape at her startling
beauty, some boldly or suggestively. Others avoided her eyes while taking
inventory of the rest of her assets. But this man looked directly into her
eyes . . . deeply, almost intimately. Esther felt a pull she had
not experienced in a long time.

“Would you care to join us in the parlor?” Esther smiled
again and hooked her arm through his to show him the way. “Please call me
Esther. Would you care for a glass of wine? Something stronger?”

“You’re a lovely woman, Esther,” the man replied, placing
his hand lightly on hers.

Heat shot down Esther’s spine. She looked from his hand
resting on hers into his eyes again.
I could get lost in those eyes
, she
thought. It was uncharacteristic of her to be moved by a client
but . . .

He squeezed her hand gently. “My name is Cal. Cal Judd. What
a pleasant establishment you have.”

~~**~~