Page 28 of Valley of Dreams

A girl, likely about twelve or thirteen years old, climbed the steps of the front porch, her bearing proper and a little withdrawn. Behind her, a girl closer to nine and very like her in appearance, but utterly different in demeanor, spun in circles as she made her way up the walk. Both were dressed in serviceable versions of fashionable dresses appropriate for their ages. Both, she noticed, wore shoes.

They stopped when they spotted her.

The younger of the two actually spoke. “Who are you?”

“I’m Eliza Porter. The new housekeeper.”

With a puzzled tip of her head, the littler girl asked, “Where are you from?”

Her accent, no doubt, had inspired the inquiry. “From England.”

“Mama is from Ireland.” The girl flitted past, apparently not overset or put out by the presence of a stranger.

The older sister offered a fleeting smile. “You’ll grow used to Ivy. She doesn’t hold still very long and asks a great many questions.”

Ivy.Eliza would remember that.

Mrs. Archer approached, with a child likely Lydia’s age on her hip. She, too, dressed fashionably but without the unnecessary lace and ruffles that marked most of the fine ladies back East. Ivy had indicated that Mrs. Archer was Irish. Eliza would have guessed as much. The Irish had a look about them, something in their build and features that, despite the inevitable variations, tied them to their homeland.

“This is your mum?” Eliza asked the daughter who remained on the porch.

The girl hesitated only a fraction of a moment before nodding.

Mrs. Archer stepped onto the porch. Though her air was not unfriendly, there was noticeable caution there.

Eliza dropped a curtsy without loosening her grip on Lydia. “Mrs. Archer,” she acknowledged.

“You must be Mrs. Porter.” Oh, she was most definitely Irish.

“I am, ma’am.”

“Please,” Mrs. Archer said. “We needn’t stand on ceremony here. No need to curtsy or address any of us so formally.”

Eliza straightened nervously. Informality with the family of an employer had caused her no end of difficulty in the past.

“I’m Katie,” the woman said. “This is Emma, our oldest.” Next, she indicated the boy in her arms. “This is our little lad, Sean. And I suspect you’ve already met Ivy.” She spoke with enough amusement to indicate Ivy’s utter lack of shyness was a trait of long-standing. “Joseph will be along shortly. He’ll want to meet you.”

Joseph was, no doubt, Mr. Archer. Eliza didn’t let her nervousness show.

“I look forward to meeting him.” She stepped to the side enough to allow the family to come in, then followed at a respectful distance. She knew what the family would be wanting. “I can have water heated and ready for doing laundry quick as anything. There’s always plenty after a journey.”

Katie’s head tipped a bit to the side. “You’re English.”

“I am. Is that a problem?” The English had a long and storied history of mistreating the Irish, abusing and oppressing them. That might be too heavy a history to makethisarrangement too uncomfortable for Katie.

“Not a problem in the least, I swear to you.” Her gaze fell on Lydia. “This is your daughter?”

“Yes. This is Lydia. She’s a year-and-a-half now.”

“She’s of an age with our Sean.” She bounced her boy a little. “I suspect they’ll be fast friends. And the girls will fall utterly in love with her.”

That would be a wonderful thing, and yet . . . “I’ll make certain she’s not ever a distraction to them or that she prevents me from doing my work.”

“We’ll sort it out.”

Eliza meant to do more than “sort it out.” She meant to be the very best housekeeper a family could hope for. Maura had recommended her for the post, and Eliza didn’t wish to repay that kindness by undermining the Archers’ trust. Further, she needed the income and the roof over her head. Without this job, she’d be in difficult straits.

An hour later, she was seated outside, a large basket of clothes beside her, steam rising before her from a large iron pot on the low-burning fire. The clothesline was empty, awaiting its coming burden. A washtub, washboard, and rinse basin sat at the ready as well.

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