When Love Calls (28 page)

“Mother, I’ve told you before that machine is ridiculous.” Albert leaned against the fireplace. “I don’t know why you insist on using that dangerous contraption.”

“It’s dangerous?” Susan asked.

“Nonsense.” Elise poured water into the battery. “Look at me. I’ve used it twice a day for days now, and I’ve never felt better.”

“I’m leaving. I want no part in this quackery.” Albert marched from the room.

“Enough of your new toy, my dear. I think a little music is in order.” Pete turned to Susan. “Will you play the piano for us?”

Susan agreed and played several pieces. In the middle of a lovely sonata, an explosion shook the house.

Elise shrieked.

Hannah turned to Lincoln. “What was that?”

“I don’t know. Stay here.” He rushed to the window.

A servant ran into the room. “Mr. Williams! It’s the Grennen place.”

Pete paled. “Their carriage house?”

“No!” Lincoln ran toward the door. “This time I think it’s their home!”

 34 

It was well after midnight by the time the fire was under control. Lincoln stood by, helpless to stop the flames from destroying the stately home. He kept his arm anchored around Hannah. The Grennens had lost everything, but at least they still had each other. Thankfully, the daughter of Western Union’s manager and her family had not been home at the time of the explosion, but now they stood watching their home consumed by flames.

Pete and Elise offered to take in the family, but they insisted on going to the home of their parents. Charles and Susan finally persuaded them to leave and took them in their carriage.

When the young family had departed, Elise burst into tears. Pete held her. One look at Hannah told Lincoln she was close to following suit. He thumbed a tear from her cheek. “We’ll leave as soon as I speak to the fire marshal.”

“Mother.” Albert laid his hand on his mother’s shoulder. “Let’s get you home. You need your rest.”

“Let me take her,” Hannah offered.

Albert and Pete slowly agreed and relinquished Elise to Hannah, who draped her arm around Elise’s shoulders and led her toward the house, murmuring words of comfort.

Lincoln marveled at how gentle Hannah was with the woman she’d only just met. She seemed to sense how mentally frail Elise
was, and yet she didn’t treat the condition with disdain like so many other women would.

Once the two women had disappeared into the house, he sought out the fire marshal. The man recognized him but was far from thrilled to see him present at the scene.

Lincoln fell in step beside him. “Was it caused by a gas explosion?”

“Nope.”

“You’re sure?”

The fire marshal glared, his position unyielding. “Dynamite.”

“How can you tell?”

The fire marshal pointed to the crater in the ground. “The gas line is over there. Only one other thing makes a porch go up like that. All I can say is they’re lucky they weren’t home.” He leaned back. “Guess you’re happy. Your firebug should get out of jail now.”

After turning Elise over to her maid, Hannah stepped into the hallway outside the woman’s room. While the main floor had gas lights, the upstairs did not, so she took the oil lamp from the room to light her way. Bone weary and reeking of smoke, she searched for the washroom. If she could find it, perhaps she could at least wash the ash from her face before going home.

Turning to the right, she tried two doors and found only additional bedrooms. A third door was ajar, and she nudged it with the toe of her shoe. Her lamplight flickered off bottles, wires, coils, and all sorts of unfamiliar objects.

“Can I help you find something?”

She jumped and whirled at the sound of a voice behind her. “Albert.” Relief flooded over her. “I was looking for the washroom.”

“I’m afraid you found my laboratory instead. The washroom is at the end of the hall. And Lincoln is waiting for you downstairs.”

“Thank you.” She turned toward the direction he indicated.

Albert clamped his hand on her arm. “Miss Gregory, is my mother all right?”

“Yes, she’s sleeping now.”

“Good.” He stared at Elise’s door. “I’d hate for this to send her into a downward spiral.”

Hannah saw the worry in his eyes, and for a brief moment, Albert reminded her of his father. “I’ll say a prayer for her.”

“Prayers. Yes. That would be good.” He didn’t take his eyes off the bedroom’s entrance.

Albert was certainly an odd duck, and he sounded as tired as she felt. “Good night. Please thank your mother for Lincoln and me.”

She hurried down the hall but swore she heard Albert talking to himself. Hannah’s lips curled. His concern for his mother was admirable, but if her father were there, he would probably have said the young man was a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

Using this arena for the Memorial Day celebration was brilliant. Lincoln helped Hannah take a seat in the Monster Grand Stands at the Iowa State Fair grounds. With lots of room for both the participants and the spectators, and at only ten cents a seat, it was an easy way for him to treat the whole family.

He swallowed hard as a warm yet strange sensation settled over him. Family. How odd he kept thinking of Hannah and her sisters that way.

Hannah tucked her ivy-green suit out of the way and smiled at him. “Thank you for bringing us all here. What a special day.”

She stifled a yawn with her gloved hand, and guilt nudged him. Maybe he should have canceled their planned outing after last night’s events. But when he’d mentioned that option to Hannah, she’d insisted she didn’t want to disappoint her sisters.

Tessa, her copper braid shining in the sun, scooted in next to Hannah. Charlotte and George eased into the seats in front of them. From what Lincoln could tell, George must be quite the witty young man to elicit scores of giggles from Charlotte. But if he didn’t put some space between himself and Charlotte, Lincoln
was going to have to volunteer young George to be the target in the upcoming military drill.

“Look! Here they come.” Tessa clapped her hands.

Two of the Des Moines fire department’s crack horse teams took their places on the field.

“Which team is which?” Hannah asked.

Lincoln pointed to the pair on the right. “That one is Jack and Jack. They won the state competition last year. The other team is Black and Tan. They’re younger but great too.” Two teams of firemen drew their hose carts onto the field and lined up at the starting line. “The first one is the hub-and-hub competition.”

At the pop of a pistol, the two teams raced down the length of the field with two team members pulling the hose cart. Every fifty yards, they exchanged places with other members. The crowd cheered the teams as those from station number two, Jack and Jack’s station, captured top honors.

“Next up are the bunk hitches!” the announcer decreed.

“This one is Jack and Jack’s specialty.” Lincoln eyed the horses as they took their places. “The firemen have to hitch their team to the steam engine. Then one man will climb on the cart and race it around to the finish line.”

Charlotte turned back toward Hannah and him. “How far do they have to run?”

“Around the arena twice, right, Lincoln?”

“That’s right, Tessa.”

George shielded his eyes against the morning sun. “Looks like about six or seven hundred yards.”

“Close. It’s eight hundred eighty,” Lincoln answered. “It’s a half mile.”

George scowled, and Lincoln winced. He should have known better than to correct George in front of his girl.

He jolted at the crack of the pistol. Both teams had their horses hitched and coupled to the engine cart faster than Lincoln thought possible. Neck and neck, the two teams raced like lightning. In just
over a minute, the race was over. The announcer proclaimed Jack and Jack the winner at one minute, fourteen seconds.

“Black and Tan lost by only four seconds, folks. Let’s give both teams a round of applause,” the announcer said. “Next up is the contest for hose laying and coupling.”

By the end of the fire drills, Tessa announced she wanted to become a fireman.

“There’s only one problem.” George looked at her and laughed. “They’re fire
men
, not fire
women
.”

Tessa’s eyes narrowed. “Women have been putting out all kinds of fires for centuries. I don’t see why they can’t put out real ones too. What do you think, Charlotte?”

Charlotte looked from Tessa to George, clearly nervous about answering. She glanced at Hannah, perhaps hoping for a reprieve.

“Yes, Charlotte, what do you think?” Hannah smiled sweetly.

“I . . . uh . . .”

“Go ahead and tell us what you think. You’re allowed your own opinions.” Lincoln held out his hands, hoping to encourage her. If she gave an answer contrary to George’s, his reaction would tell a lot about his character. How would George handle it?

She swallowed. “I think it’s a very difficult job, but there’s no reason a woman couldn’t do it if she can manage the lifting and such. If a lady’s house was on fire and her children were inside, none of us would think twice about her fighting a fire to save them. Yet, when it’s someone else’s home, we wonder if she could do it.” She glanced at George. “I don’t think it’s a question of if a woman is able, but if men are willing to let her join their ranks.”

While he wouldn’t want Hannah or her sisters ever to take up such a cause, Lincoln wanted to cheer. Apparently, Hannah wasn’t the only one who could present a decent argument. The Gregory sisters knew how to use their beautiful brains.

George vaulted to his feet.

“Where are you going?” Charlotte grabbed his arm.

“For a walk.” He jerked free of her grasp and stalked out of the stands.

Charlotte looked at her sisters, eyes filled with tears. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Are you serious?” Lincoln laid a hand on Charlotte’s shoulder. “You made an excellent point. Give him a few minutes to cool off.”

George didn’t return until after the fire drill competition had concluded and the bugle had sounded for the military review and dress parade to begin. He took his place beside Charlotte but didn’t say anything as the entire regiment of the second cavalry marched into the arena. It wasn’t until they began their elaborate drills that George seemed to get over his snit.

“George.” Lincoln touched his shoulder. “Why don’t you and I go get the ladies some Coca-Colas?”

“Sure. I guess.”

Once they’d left the arena, Lincoln directed George toward a refreshment stand. He asked the clerk for five bottles and waited. “So, George, what does your father do for a living?”

“Right now, he’s working at the quarry. He lost his other job in some mess.”

“The quarry? How far is that away from your home?” He handed the clerk a quarter for the Coca-Colas and handed two to George.

“About twenty miles out of town.”

Lincoln tucked one bottle in the crook of his arm and grasped the other two in his hands. “That’s a long way to travel every day.”

George shrugged. “Sometimes he stays there for a couple of days at a time. It just depends.”

“So you’re home alone with your mother?” Lincoln motioned for them to head back.

“My ma’s dead. Died giving birth.” He looked down at the ground as he walked. “And I don’t mind being home alone. I’m not a kid anymore.”