Wishes on the Wind (28 page)

    Still no response.

    "Are you still angry with me, Meg?"

    Holding her silence a moment longer, Meg finally spoke in tones devoid of warmth. "I suppose you might say that."

    David frowned. "I've already apologized. I can't do more than that."

    Meg's sober expression increased his disquiet, and David took a deep steadying breath. "You've come to give your notice and collect your wage, then."

    "I've returned to work."

    Relief rang inside him, and David smiled, only to have his relief cut short as Meghan continued. "But I've a condition to my continued employment, strange as that may seem, and it's only now that I've come to realize the difficulty of speaking of it."

    
The look of a child, but so much more.
That thought was foremost in David's mind as he said, "We've never had difficulty in saying what we think to each other, Meg. This situation's no different."

    "Ah, but it is." Discomfort flickered across Meg's stiff expression. "You see, I've made my brother a promise. I told him I'd let him know if you pressed me to trade the valley for a room on the hill again. He'd suffer my return here in no other way, and I'll not break my word to him. So, you see, it's up to you whether I remain."

    A deep sadness moved through David in the silence that followed. When he finally spoke, his voice held an unexpected rasp. "So you're going to cast your future aside for the sake of loyalty to something that's already lost, and you're"

    Halting in midsentence as Meg turned abruptly back in the direction from which she had come, David stepped forward and gripped her arm.

    "All right, Meg."

    The simple words of concession echoing within his mind, David waited until Meg turned back to face him before continuing. "There's no point in driving you away with my persistence. I've nothing to gain there. You have my word that I'll do as you say. You can forget my grand plan for your enrichment if you'll promise me something in return."

    Meg's clear eyes clouded. "If I can."

    "You're asking me to forget everything we discussed in the past few days, and I want you to do the same. I want you to forget all the foolish things I said that came between us, and the anger as well. I know it won't be easy, but keeping to the bargain you ask of me will be difficult as well." And then with a small smile, "Especially since I'm a spoiled sort who's always had his way."

    "Aye, there's truth in that."

    A flicker of a smile took the sting from Meg's familiar words, and David continued sincerely. "I want us to be friends again, Meg."

    Tears welled unexpectedly in Meg's eyes, and David felt a thickness in his own throat as she fought for a voice. "Ah, David, but it's such a difficult friendship. Is it worth the wear?"

    Hesitating briefly, David responded, "You know the answer to that as well as I."

    Closing the last few steps between them, David slipped his arm around Meg's narrow shoulders. He clasped her against his side without chancing another word as he drew her along with him up the trail. He felt her trembling, and it was with the strictest control that he forced his step to remain steady and his voice to remain even as he began speaking of small incidentals calculated to reduce the discomfort of the moment.

    Relieved as Meg's control returned, David looked down into her face as they reached the crest of the hill, only to be struck with the thought of the woman this girl would someday become.

    A wealth of emotions stirred within him and he realized then he could fool himself no longer. He would not have let Meg goat any cost.

    Silent and unseen at the window of the morning room, Letty watched the area of woods through which the trail from the valley wound. As David and Meghan O'Connor emerged into the yard and she saw the girl step away from the arm David rested companionably around her shoulders. All appeared well between them, and her relief was bittersweet.

    There was no doubt in her mind that David had been drawn to the child the first moment he saw her standing beside Father Mulligan in the study those long months ago, and that the girl struck a chord that rang deep within him. But she had not foreseen the problems that would result from this affinity he felt for her. The present companionship and equality of exchange she saw between them now increased her concern.

    David saw something very special in Meghan O'Connor, and if she could not see those qualities as clearly as he, unlike Martin, Letty did not repudiate their existence. But she did worry and fear for the future of the commitment David evidenced for the girl.

    Continuing to watch them, Letty saw David and the girl approach the house. She knew they would soon separate, Meghan to attend to her duties in the kitchen, and David to work with his uncle, where his bright future lay. In Letty's mind, that physical separation clearly marked the gulf between them.

    Letty turned from the window. Dear David she so wanted him to be happy. There was no doubt he was happier at this moment than he had been for days, for she had seen the relief on his handsome face when he looked at the girl. But the present was fleeting, and there was an unforeseeable future toward which they all inexorably moved.

    What would that future hold for Meghan O'Connor and her own dear David? She worried for them and for all the people who loved and hated them. And she wished so desperately that she knew the answer.

1870

Chapter 12

    The hot afternoon sun splintered the lazy mist of coal dust shrouding the valley, touching the abused autumn-colored landscape with muted shafts of gold. Shattering the deceiving tranquility of the scene, the colliery whistle shrieked the conclusion of the day shift, and the first trickle of miners emerged from the shafts below. The ragged string of workers gradually broadened and grew in length, the expressions of the men betraying no sign of the year of disturbance recently passed or the agitation still playing underneath the surface tedium of daily routine.

    Watching from his office window, Martin Lang's hawk like features tightened with distaste as he surveyed the weary line. They didn't fool him!

    Martin walked to his desk, grateful that David had departed a short time earlier, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Lowering his wiry frame into his chair, Martin looked down at Captain Linden's report. It had been a troubled year in many ways, and he needed time to digest these latest revelations as his mind drifted back to the sequence of events which had led to this distressing point in time.

    As much as Martin hated to admit it, David had been correct in his evaluation of Franklin Gowen and the impact his elevation to presidency of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad would have on the coal fields. Gowen's initial move as president had been to persuade the state legislature to pass a bill permitting railroads to own mines, and the second was to change the name of the company to the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company. From then on, only a fool would not have been able to guess the direction in which this powerful and determined young man would move.

    Floating a rumored loan of twenty-five million dollars, Gowen began purchasing land in Schuylkill and Northumberland counties. With the help of strikes and financial difficulties, he convinced many individual operators to sell, and, although he was unsuccessful in adding the Lang Colliery to his long list of acquisitions, there was no longer any doubt in Martin's mind that Gowen had absolute control of the anthracite fields in mind.

    It was not long before another of Gowen's intentions then became clear. Divide and destroy the unions and bring the Irish in the coal fields to heel.

    Frowning, Martin rubbed a weary hand across his brow. He had no affection for the Irish in the mines. Every last one of them shared the guilt of the Mollies' crimes. It was from within their ranks that the current incarnation of the Mollies had been spawned, and their silence was collusion that allowed the heinous deeds of their murderous countrymen safety from the law.

    The Irish were a troublesome lot who needed to be reminded of their place, but, somehow, he could not find it within himself to justify Gowen's underhanded, totally ruthless tactics in handling them. Innuendo, malicious slander, and job discrimination became his tools as he used the power of his position to create dissension within their ranks and confuse them with vacillating policies, sometimes favoring newly arrived Irishmen over long-established miners, and then reversing the procedure without notice. Using informants in the pits, breakers, stables, engine houses, and at outside workings, he heard each whisper of incipient unionism, and would often throw miners off balance by promoting a troublemaker instead of firing him, only to fire the next organizer and have him blacklisted everywhere within the coal fields while his family starved.

    The situation among the private operators remaining was approaching chaos, as those of Lang's group were faced with heightened Molly activity and uncertainty as to Gowen's next move. Himself the recipient of one of Gowen's open scolding’s for allowing the operation of a ''pluck me" store in his patch, Martin was well aware that Gowen had banned such practice in his own holdings. Gowen also refused the posting of the hated "No Irish Need Apply" signs used in some areas of the fields, but he was not above leading a hand to anti-Catholicism whenever he could if he thought it would raise more dissension in the fields.

    However, Gowen's totally despicable trick a year earlier was the move that finally forced Martin to see Gowen for the man he truly was. Blatantly using a disaster in which more than one hundred Welsh miners were killed to his advantage, Gowen started a rumor that the anti-Welsh Molly Maguires started the blaze. The reaction was a heightening of tensions in the coal fields, and the outrage of the silent, unidentifiable Molly organization sparked a new round of incidents at the mines that had not yet abated.

    Releasing a disturbed sigh, Martin Lang shook his head. No, he had no use for such tactics. It was not his objective to control his miners and overcome the Mollies by lowering himself to their level.

    His mind slipping to more personal matters, Martin experienced a similar frustration. It had been a difficult year on his home front as well. David's handsome young image appeared before him as Martin recalled the spring season of the previous year, before the fire. Everything had seemed so clear then. David had finished his curriculum, excelling in every way, and Martin had then decided to hold his nephew's advanced education in abeyance for a year, deeming it more important to introduce his nephew to the workings of the colliery during that period so he might better understand the areas in which he should concentrate his studies. As it turned out, that was his first and most vital mistake, for in doing so, he had allowed David to remain on the scene to become involved with that damned O'Connor girl.

    A whispered oath escaping his lips, Martin drew himself to his feet and walked to the window once more, his eyes moving unseeingly to the hills beyond. He had been correct when he disagreed with Letty as to the threat the O'Connor girl presented. It had been only too obvious to him when he saw her before leaving for the office that very morning, that in the space of one short year, the girl had left the physical appearance of childhood behind her. She was still small and slender, but womanhood had made its mark on Meghan O'Connor's formerly childish form, and he knew the changes nature had wrought were not be lost on his young nephew.

    Returning to his desk, Martin shuffled the papers there with an impatient hand before finding the letter he sought. He read it again and looked up to stare thoughtfully into space as he considered its contents. Unless he was gravely mistaken, the next few years would bring about great changes in the coal fields. His future and the future of those he loved were at stake. David placed highly on that list of loved ones, and he could not afford to make another mistake.

    An expression of pained exasperation passed over Lang's narrow, lined face. He had handled the situation with David and

    Meghan O'Connor poorly during the past year. He had depended on David's intelligence to bring about an understanding of the dangers of his allegiance to the young Irish girl. In doing so, he had neglected to take into account David's youth and susceptibility. Fool that he was, he had somehow forgotten how it felt to be young and idealistic and to be certain he could read more than others in the eyes of a particular girl. He had forgotten how a girl's smile could thrill, and how the promise of more could send the blood racing.

    Damn it all! Now David would be the loser if he did not act quickly and wisely. Glancing down at the letter in his hand, Martin finally conceded that he must take the necessary steps, however difficult they proved to be.

    A brief glance around her as she reached the top of the staircase assured Meg that she was alone. Hastening down the silent hallway of the Lang mansion, she paused before Grace Lang's bedroom and surveyed the area one more time before opening the door and slipping inside.

    Releasing a tense breath, she turned and assessed the chaos, uncertain exactly where to start. How this particular chore had fallen to her in recent months was not entirely clear in her mind, but it was now an accepted part of a thrice-weekly ritual that she should employ stealth to sneak into Grace Lang's room when the girl was otherwise engaged in order to clean it without her knowledge.