Just Above a Whisper (17 page)

“Actually, why don’t you hold onto it for the moment. There’s some business I need to discuss with you.”

“Did Mr. Jenness ask you to?”

“Not exactly.” Troy worked to be gracious, already impressed with this young woman. She was not unlike his own two girls. “Are you aware that the Kingsley family owns the bank here in Tucker Mills?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I work with Conner Kingsley, and the two of us have come to check on this bank and assess how business is progressing. Some changes will be made, and some things will stay the same.”

Reese nodded again, not sure what any of this had to do with her.

“Mr. Jenness was under the impression that having an indentured servant would be to the bank’s advantage. On the other hand, Mr. Kingsley and I do not think it the best idea, so we’ll be turning your papers over to you. You are no longer an indentured servant.”

Reese looked for a moment at the contract he held out to her and then took it. The silence hung over them like a blanket. Reese stared down at the document, saw that it was in fact her papers, and returned her gaze to him.

“What about Mr. Zantow’s debt?”

“That is not your problem. The bank will have to take a loss on anything outstanding.”

Reese was not taking this in. The news was so very unexpected. She looked down at her papers and back at the banker.

“So what happens to me?”

“You’re free.”

Reese’s face cleared. “So I should get work and continue to pay the bank that way?”

“No,” Troy adamantly shook his head. “You don’t owe anyone. You are certainly free to get a job, but the money is your own. In fact,” Troy continued, picking up a small stack of bank notes, “this bank never should have owned your papers, so these notes are to cover the hours you worked while we held your papers.”

Reese reached out mechanically to take the money but was utterly speechless. It was becoming clear to her now. She was free. She wasn’t owned by the bank or anyone else. She was free!

“I should tell you,” Reese remembered, “that Mr. Jenness gave me a stipend. Has that amount been deducted from these notes?”

“No, and it won’t be. You’ll keep the stipend and the notes I just gave you.”

Reese nodded slowly and then bit her lip.

“Are you sure Mr. Jenness approves?”

“You’re free, Reese,” Troy repeated quietly. “You are no longer an indentured servant.”

Reese glanced down at the paper and notes again. She was beginning to grasp the news, and when she looked up again, Troy saw that her eyes had widened.

“I could buy shoes,” she said in wonder. “And put money in the offering plate at the meetinghouse.”

Troy had to suddenly clear his throat and remind himself that he still had business with this woman.

“You certainly could do those things, and you could also consider an offer I have for you,” Troy began, finding it easier at that moment to look down at the desk than at Reese. He moved a few papers and then looked up. “Mr. Kingsley and I will be in Tucker Mills for an indefinite period of time, but no less than three months. We would like to hire you to cook and clean house for us.”

“You’re offering me a job?”

“Yes.”

“At the Kingsley house?”

“That’s right. We’d like you to keep the house up, look after our clothing needs, and prepare breakfast each morning and dinner for us each noon. You will have Sundays off.”

Reese suddenly stood up, and Troy smiled at how tall she was. He didn’t know why he had missed that when she came in. He watched her walk out of the alcove and heard her speak to Mr. Leffler, who was behind the counter.

“He set me free and then offered me a job.”

“You should take it,” Mr. Leffler said, his own emotions giving him trouble.

“It’s at the Kingsley house.”

“You love that house,” the teller reminded her.

“Oh, no,” Reese turned. “I walked out of the office!”

She rushed back, a hand over her mouth, but Mr. Thaden was smiling.

“I’m sorry. I had to tell Mr. Leffler.”

“It’s wise of you to check with someone. Do you want the job?”

“Yes.” Reese made herself sit down and told herself to breathe. “Do you want me to start today?”

“In a way, I do. We have very little food in the house. Do you suppose you could shop or arrange to have some things delivered on Monday? You wouldn’t have to come to the house until then, but that would give you something to work with.”

“Do you have an account with Doyle Shephard?”

“I don’t think I know Doyle Shephard.”

“He owns Shephard Store.”

“That would be a good account to have. Do I need to set that up, or can you?”

“I can do it,” Reese said simply, and Troy found himself relaxing. She was going to be perfect. Clearly she knew her way around a house and this town, and right now that couldn’t have been a better combination.

“I think you’ll also want an account with Mr. Veland. He’ll sell meat he’s butchered, and Sammy Fletcher has a dairy herd, so they always have extra cheese and cream,” she said, thinking back to life at Mr. Zantow’s.

“Can you take care of those?”

“Certainly,” Reese said, feeling so excited that she could hardly sit still. “Mr. Thaden, is it all right if I take about an hour and see some people? Then I can work on those accounts.”

“I want you to handle this however you like, Reese. You don’t need to limit yourself to an hour. If there’s dinner on the table at noon on Monday, and you’re looking after the house by that day, then we won’t worry about the details for today.”

“All right,” Reese agreed, but for a moment she couldn’t move. It was so wonderful, and she had to take a moment to pray and thank God.

“Are you all right?” Troy asked, watching her face closely.

“Yes. I’ll get out of your way now.”

“I’ll see you Monday morning?”

“Yes. Thank you,” Reese said softly, her voice telling Troy that she was overwhelmed by it all. Reese left the office alcove and almost headed to the door. At the last moment, she realized what she must do. Approaching the empty counter, she spoke to Mr. Leffler.

“Mr. Leffler, can you help me open a bank account?”

“It would be my pleasure, Reese,” he told her, his smile as wide as his face.

Behind the bookshelves, still at the desk, Troy let his head fall back, hearing Reese’s voice at the counter as she asked questions and opened her own account. Troy thought that giving Reese Thackery her freedom might have been the sweetest moment he’d ever known. Coming from a man with two grown daughters and two grandchildren, this was a pretty significant emotion.

“Doc?” Reese called from inside his front door, but there was no answer. She stood and called for about a minute, but he didn’t seem to be around. Reese was disappointed not to share her news with him, but she realized she had two more stops to make.

Her walk was a little slower than it had been. She certainly wanted to tell the Muldoons and Mrs. Greenlowe, but Doc had been first on her list. Reese made herself shake off the sadness and went ahead to Mrs. Greenlowe’s.

To Reese’s utter astonishment, that lady was not around. She was always at home! Reese looked all over the house and yard but came up empty. The Muldoons lived closest to the bank, and Reese was beginning to wish she’d started there. At the same moment that she came to this conclusion, she decided to let the Tucker Mills grapevine spread the word about her freedom and new job. She would simply wait for people to ask her about it, confident that it would happen sooner than later.

Troy went back to the house about midmorning. He had a stack of papers in his satchel and had told Mr. Leffler that he would be at home if needed. Troy found Conner in the study working over the desk, but the younger man seemed pale and quieter then usual.

“Any word from Mr. Jenness?” Conner asked, making room on the desk for Troy to work and spread out the papers.

“No.”

“I hope he didn’t wander off and collapse somewhere. Even if he’s guilty of something, we don’t want that.”

“Mr. Leffler had not heard or seen a thing. I did get to speak to Reese, however.”

“What did she say?”

“At first she didn’t understand, and then when it sank in, she was overwhelmed.”

“I can imagine. Did she accept your offer to work here?”

“In a heartbeat. She’s already planning to set up accounts around town today.”

Conner’s brows rose in admiration. “You certainly picked the right person, Troy.”

“According to Leffler, she had no help on this house. And she did it in just over a week. Now, we might find that she can’t cook a thing, but we’ll take that as it comes.”

“What’s she like?”

“Early twenties, I would guess. She’s tall and redheaded. Too thin. Quiet and unassuming. I can tell she’s used to being invisible.”

Conner nodded, and Troy finally asked about him.

“I have a headache,” Conner admitted. “I suspect it’s tied to being here again. I’m experiencing more emotions than I’d planned.”

“Are you sleeping?”

“I did the first night, but not last night.”

“Did you go see Douglas Muldoon this morning?”

“No, I changed my mind about that. I know he has children, and this head pain could mean something else. I decided not to risk spreading a possible illness.”

These details out of the way, the men went to work. Conner had a mind for numbers that was astounding, whereas Troy liked words. Reports were read, numbers were checked, and a good bit of ground was covered before the two decided it was time to break for dinner.

Troy had something on his mind while they worked but couldn’t quite recall it. Not until he glanced around the room and noticed the bookshelves did he think to explain to Conner the way Mr. Jenness had set up the alcove.

“He had the bookshelves blocking the view of the desk, like a wall?” Conner clarified.

“That’s right.”

“Did he say why?”

“We never got to that.”

Conner only shook his head. If Mr. Jenness was in fact an innocent man, he was going about showing it in all the wrong ways.

Jace came in from evening chores, his mind distracted with his thoughts. Not until he’d washed up did he realize that tea was ready to go on the table but the house was quiet. Jace thought he would find his wife upstairs, but as soon as he started that way, he spotted her bent over the desk in the corner of the parlor.