Aundy (Pendleton Petticoats #1)(10)
Author: Shanna Hatfield

Knowing there was no help for it, she walked to Erik’s bedroom and stood for a moment with her forehead resting against his door. Turning the knob, she looked around the room for a moment before stepping inside.

Nora made sure the bed had clean sheets and the room had been aired, but everything else was just as Erik left it.

The nightstand in his room drew her attention, so she looked there first for any money he might have left behind. Finding his wallet, she emptied it then searched the dresser. A box hidden in the back of one drawer contained more than enough money to cover the wages of the men leaving.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Aundy took out what she needed, put the rest of the money back in the box and returned it to Erik’s drawer. She needed to clean out his things, but she’d worry about it another day.

Exiting the room, she shut the door quietly behind her and walked back to his desk in the front room where she placed money in four envelopes, addressing each to the appropriate farm hand. Carrying them to the kitchen, she finished cleaning the eggs, made herself a simple breakfast and waited for her foreman to return.

Dent knocked softly and opened the door, sticking his head inside. Aundy handed him the envelopes without a word and he hurried back toward the bunkhouse.

Sighing, Aundy was mulling over her options for getting herself to town when a knock at the kitchen door brought her out of her musings. Seeing four heads standing outside, she steeled herself for whatever waited and opened the door.

“Mrs. Erikson?” one of the men said, looking down at his scuffed boot.

“Yes,” Aundy said, opening the door wider and studying the four men. All but one of them looked quite uncomfortable to be there. The fourth boldly stared at her with a gleam in his eye she found quite unsettling.

“We just wanted to thank you for paying us for a full month and for treating us good since you’ve been here. Us leaving ain’t about you specifically,” the designated speaker said, looking at his comrades for agreement. At their nods, he continued. “We just don’t cotton to working for no woman, no matter how nice she might be.”

“I see,” Aundy said, wanting to give them a piece of her mind. Instead, she bit her tongue and forced herself to smile. “Thank you for providing me with that information, Mr. Tadlock. I appreciate the work you’ve done here on the farm and wish you all much success in your future endeavors.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” the speaker said, tipping his head as they all backed off the steps and walked around to where their horses waited.

Once they were out of sight, Aundy gave in to the urge to stamp her foot. “Bunch of club-dragging cavedwellers,” Aundy muttered to herself, marching into her bedroom and getting out one of her best day gowns. Deciding there was no way she could get into her corset without assistance, she finally gave up and placed a call to Nora.

“Nash’s Folly,” a deep voice said in Aundy’s ear, making tingles race down her spine.

“Garrett?”

“Yep, the one and only,” he said in a light-hearted tone, making a smile break out on Aundy’s face while her heartbeat skipped into a faster tempo.

“This is Mrs. Erickson. May I please speak with your mother?”

“Nope.”

“Oh…I…well…I…”

Laughter filled the earpiece of the phone and Aundy held it away from her head, staring at it, perplexed, before returning it to her ear.

“I’m teasing you, Mrs. Erickson. Just a moment, I’ll get her for you.”

“Thank you,” Aundy said, breathing a sigh of relief. She could hear rumbling sounds in the background then Nora’s cheery voice greeted her.

“What can I do for you today, honey?”

“Nora, I hate to ask, but I sorely need your assistance with a matter here at my home. Would there be any way you could possibly come over this morning?”

“Certainly. I can be there in an hour. Anything I need to bring?”

“No, ma’am, and thank you,” Aundy said, remembering that many people listened in on the phone lines so anything she said could be fodder for community gossip.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, honey.”

“Thank you, Nora. I appreciate it.”

Hanging up from her call with Nora, Aundy turned around, surprised to see Dent stick his head in the kitchen door. Welcoming him inside, Aundy retrieved a pencil and a pad of paper from Erik’s desk, poured Dent a cup of coffee and sat with him at the table writing an advertisement for hired help. They were finishing when they heard the front door shut and looked up as Nora bustled into the kitchen.

“What are you two working on?” Nora asked, leaning down to look over Aundy’s shoulder.

“Four of the men quit this morning when Dent told them I was keeping the farm. We’re in dire need of more help,” Aundy said, looking at Dent who got up and edged toward the door.

“With Erik gone, you’re running five short? Is that right?” Nora asked, looking to Dent for confirmation. At his nod, Nora shook her head.

“We can send over some help until you hire more men,” Nora said, thinking they could make do with a couple less hands for a few days.

“Absolutely not, Nora. You’ve done so much already,” Aundy said, getting to her feet and looking at Dent for support. Instead, he nodded his head inconspicuously at Nora.

“Looks like you’re outvoted, Missy.” Dent grinned then hurried out the door before Aundy could reply.

“Nora, I…” Aundy said, turning toward the woman who had been mother, friend, and mentor to her since she’d stood dripping mud all over her clean porch.

“Not another word, Aundy. It’s what neighbors and friends do,” Nora said, setting a basket on the table and pulling out a few jars of jam, a napkin filled with cookies and a loaf of bread that smelled delicious.

Aundy couldn’t do much cooking with one hand, and was trying to get by as best she could. Dent invited her to join the men in the bunkhouse for meals, but Aundy didn’t feel right about that either.

Looking around the kitchen, Nora took off her hat and set it on the table. “Now, what required my assistance?”

“I need to go into town and get the men’s wages from the bank, pick up supplies, and place an advertisement in the paper. I should be dressed in something more presentable than the work clothes I’ve been wearing and for that, I need someone to help me put on that blasted corset. Like I said, I hate to bother you, but I don’t know what else to do. I would also be forever grateful if you can help me get my hair put up proper before I head into town,” Aundy said, walking toward her bedroom with Nora.

“And just how, precisely, do you plan to get into town to run all these errands?” Nora asked as she helped Aundy take off her shirtwaist and skirt and started fastening the corset into place.

“I hadn’t exactly gotten that far in my plans. I watched Garrett with the buggy and horse yesterday and I think I could handle it.”

Nora laughed. “No doubt you’d try, but you better wait until that arm of yours has healed. My buggy is right outside and I’d be happy to run into Pendleton with you. I’ll call J.B. and let him know you and I are eating lunch in town today and he and Garrett can fend for themselves.”

“No, Nora. I can’t disrupt your day like that.”

“Yes, you can. I insist,” Nora said, expertly pulling Aundy’s long hair up and fastening it in a loose pompadour before pinning a stylish hat in place.

“My gracious, but you sure have some beautiful clothes,” Nora said, admiring Aundy’s outfit. A skirt and short jacket, in the same striking shade of light blue as Aundy’s eyes, topped a crisp white shirtwaist with thick lace around the collar and along the front. The hat, adorned with white roses, featured loops of blue ribbon that matched her stylish ensemble.

Aundy looked down and smoothed the front of her skirt with her good hand. She felt blessed to have a very nice wardrobe, realizing most people in her family’s income-bracket wouldn’t have been able to afford the clothing she, her mother and sister wore. Their wardrobes were a benefit of having sewing in their blood and access to quality materials.

Pulling on her gloves, the women walked back to the kitchen where Nora picked her now empty basket off the table and Aundy folded the advertisement she and Dent had worked on into her reticule.

“My mother’s parents worked very hard before they moved to America. My grandfather was a tailor, serving only the most affluent clients. My grandmother was a seamstress and milliner who rented a small space in a shop not far from my grandfather’s. One day he happened to be walking by the shop on his way back to his store after lunch and saw my grandmother in the window. He decided to be bold, walked right in and asked her if she would make a hat for his mother. She agreed and it didn’t take long for them to decide they were in love and wed.”

“What a romantic story,” Nora said, as she and Aundy climbed in the buggy and started down the lane. “So how did they end up in Chicago?”

“My grandfather decided there were fortunes to be made in America so he and my grandmother shipped what they could, sold the rest, and made arrangements to begin a new life in Chicago. One of my grandfather’s friends started a bakery there and helped them settle in with their two daughters. They had a large shop that offered tailored men’s clothing on one side and everything a fashionably dressed woman could want on the other. My mother and aunt grew up knowing how to sew beautifully, design hats, alter clothes flawlessly, and get the most out of a piece of yardage. They also learned how to do the fancy stitching that set their creations apart from other dress shops.”

Aundy looking around and noticed spring seemed to be arriving as the rolling fields and pastures were beginning to turn green. Taking a deep breath, the air carried a new, earthy aroma.

“And?” Nora asked, anxious to hear the rest of the story as they made their way to Pendleton.

“One day a French man came to have a suit made by my grandfather. My aunt decided right then she was going to marry the man and she did. With her new last name and the loss of her Norwegian ties, she opened her own dress shop that catered to the elite in Chicago’s social circles. My mother fell in love with a common laborer and despite my grandparents’ protests she was marrying beneath her, she didn’t care. My parents were so happy and so in love. My father’s charm quickly won over my grandparents, but he wouldn’t take a dime of their money while they were alive,” Aundy said, letting the memories flooding through her.

“My mother worked for my grandparents and then my aunt. Because of the skills she taught us, my sister and I both worked for Aunt Louisa, too. Ilsa does such beautiful work; she truly is talented. Me, I don’t have the patience for all the intricate stitching. When both our parents died, I took the job in the factory because I was good at basic sewing and needed the work. The factory owners thought their employees should dress in the clothes we made, so people could see the items out and about town. A clothing allotment was part our wages.”

Nora gave Aundy a curious look, convinced the lovely outfit she was wearing did not come from a factory. The attention to detail hinted that it was handmade by someone who definitely knew her way around a needle.

Aundy smiled at Nora’s raised brow. “When my grandparents passed away, my aunt didn’t want the inventory from their store. She said it wasn’t good enough for her clientele, so we had more bolts of fabric, trims, laces, ribbons, hat forms and sewing supplies than you could imagine. I did the basic stitching for our clothes and Ilsa made them beautiful.”

“Why didn’t your mother open her own dress shop, instead of working for your aunt?” Nora asked.

“Mother didn’t have a head for business and she didn’t want to deal with the clients, so she kept the arrangement with my aunt. My father agreed to use the inheritance from my grandparents to move to a nicer apartment and to put us in better schools. Thanks to what my grandparents left us, we were well-dressed and well-educated,” Aundy said, smiling at Nora. “My mother always said a well-dressed lady who walked with confidence and spoke intelligently could go far in life. I sure hope she’s right because I think I’ve got a long way to go and not a lot to take me there but a few nice clothes, a strong constitution, and a determination to succeed.”

Nora laughed and teasingly bumped Aundy in the side. “If that’s what it takes, you’ll go far, honey. You’ll go far.”

Arriving in town, Nora went straight to the bank and sat outside in the buggy. She knew Aundy could take care of herself. The girl soon returned looking relieved.

“That went better than I anticipated. Unlike some men around here, the banker doesn’t seem to mind dealing with a woman.”

“He’s a nice boy. Raised by good parents,” Nora said as she guided the buggy to her favorite store. “Why don’t we do our shopping and while someone carries our purchases out to the buggy, we can run over to the newspaper office with your advertisement.”

“That sounds like a fine plan,” Aundy said, a look of anticipation filling her face as Nora parked the buggy outside a large store with interesting window displays. They stopped to admire a spring scene with seed packets, baskets, and garden tools. “When do you plant a garden?”

“Not for another month or two. We have to wait until the threat of frost is past. By then, you’ll have your cast off.”

“I wonder if they have any books on gardening?” Aundy asked as they walked in the store, greeted by some women from church who were standing at the counter paying for their purchases.

After visiting with them, Nora led Aundy toward the garden supplies. “Why do you need a gardening book?”

“I’ve never planted one before and have no idea how to go about it,” Aundy said, picking up a garden trowel and wondering what purpose it served.