Sister Ruth had to change into a lilac dress because a drunken customer had spilled his whisky all over her dress the night before. She hated to since it was one that Cora had worn, which would remind the other girls of her and why she'd had to take her place, but it couldn't be helped. She also hated that she had to wear it to visit Mercy and her aunt, but if she was noticed leaving and wearing normal clothing, it could raise suspicion. Of course, hopefully they weren't noticed at all.
Aunt Dorcas answered the door. When she saw her niece, she took her by the wrist and practically jerked her into the house. "Robert told me, but I'm not sure I believed him until now. What are you thinking going around town like that? Not just the immodesty of it, but you could get yourself killed."
"I'm making sure I ain't never in a position where I'm unprotected and I think God can only bless this venture. He'll keep us safe. Where's Mercy?"
"She's in the living room, spending time with her Uncle Robert."
Mercy looked to be enjoying herself on his lap as she was getting bounced, but she started kicking her legs and reaching her arms out and giggling with pure joy at the sight of them.
"I'll try not to get my feelings hurt," Robert said with a smile.
"You shouldn't. She normally doesn't take to strange men at all." She cooed to Mercy, who was in her arms now, "Oh, my sweet, sweet, baby girl. I missed you. Momma loves you so much." Ruth kissed the top of her head and held her close. She was a balm to her soul, the picture of innocence. It was a welcome relief after being around all the vices she'd been around lately.
Mercy didn't care that she looked different. In fact, she seemed to enjoy clutching the fringe on her bodice. "Don't get too used to that," she warned with a smile.
Mercy wanted to go to Kid next. She laughed with delight as he lifted her in the air. Then she wanted to go to Ruth again. She couldn't seem to make up her mind who she wanted, she was so happy to see the both of them. She kept going back and forth between parents until they sat down on the couch and put her between them.
Robert had brought Ruth her light, not see-through shawl to wear.
"Oh. thank you. You don't know how much more comfortable that will make me," she said as she wrapped it around her to cover what the dress didn't. She couldn't wait to go back to a neckline that actually touched the neck.
"Believe me," Robert said, "it'll make me more comfortable too."
"Now if I just had something to cover up my legs, I'd be good to go."
"I don't care about them," Robert said, sitting down in the chair across from the couch. "I saw your skinny legs and knobby knees at the swimming hole too much to be bothered by them now and you can hardly see that much of them anyhow."
"I'm fixing to wallop you upside your head in a minute," she warned with a teasing grin. "I happen to think I've got very nice legs. I just don't want the whole world to know it."
Kid smiled at the sibling banter. It made him miss his own sister and brother. He asked Dorcas, who had also sat down, "Has their been any more in the paper about the murders?"
"No. There was plenty of mention about Mr. Clayton though. Did you hear about that? The fool floated in one of them balloons over Louisville about 2 weeks before you got here. You couldn't get me to even stand in one of them baskets with it grounded much less go up into the wild blue yonder in one."
"I don't know if it's so foolish," Ruth said. "It'd be kind of interesting to be able to see the world a bit like God does or the birds do."
"So you want to go up in one? I'll see if that can be arranged," Kid said playfully. "I'm sure we can meet this Mr. Clayton."
"No, thank you," she said immediately. "I prefer to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground like the good Lord intended."
"Trains, balloons, boats that move by steam," Aunt Dorcas said with a shake of her head. "What will they think of next?"
"Can I see the paper?" Kid asked. Dorcas handed him the latest edition.
"It's an interesting age we live in," Ruth agreed. "You know trains are going to be wonderful when they lay enough track for it to be handy. Can you imagine instead of it taking months to visit family having it only take a matter of days."
"Knowledge increasing to and fro. And remember a few years ago? All them stars that fell for just hours as thick as rain just like Jesus foretold. You saw that, didn't you?"
Ruth nodded. "We had a spectacular view of it from our wagon. We were out in a field, so our view wasn't obstructed by any trees or houses. It was just beautiful and so awe-inspiring."
"And terrifying," Aunt Dorcas added. "We're living in the last days."
"Most likely, but God's time is not our time and there's a lot more signs to come to pass. We might see His coming in our lifetime, we might not. But only the Lord knows the hour."
"I bet the stars falling makes for a great argument in your revivals though," Robert said.
"I don't know that I've ever mentioned it before a crowd except directly after to ease their fears. Revival attendance did go up a year or two after that. People got short memories though. They soon forget to live each day like the Lord's coming today because there won't be an announcement beforehand. He'll come like a thief in the night. But nothing's terrifying about it if we're living like we're supposed to."
"You should've been born a boy. You'd've made a good preacher," Aunt Dorcas said.
"But the Lord's finding plenty of use for me as a girl," she said with a smile. "Men and women alike are called to spread the good news. Young and old were made to prophesy about the coming Prince of Peace."
"Some lady had her jewelry stolen," Kid said. "It says if anybody has any information on it they're to contact the marshal or the paper. They're more concerned over a thief than a murderer." With disgust, he folded the paper again and handed it back to Dorcas.
They spent the rest of the morning on lighter topics of conversation and playing with Mercy: tickling her, holding her up her hands while she bounced up and down, and encouraging her to try some steps, but she kept flopping over and giggling.
Crawling was Mercy's preferred mode of travel. She did it in a funny way with her legs ramrod straight but only when she wore a dress. If she was just in a diaper, she crawled the normal way. It was smart, Ruth and Kid thought, as it kept her from tripping up in her dress.
They spent too long visiting and barely made it back in time.
"Look who deemed to show her face," Dahlia commented on her arrival to the table midway through breakfast. "So where were you? I know you weren't in your room."
"You went into my room?" Ruth asked as she sat down.
"How was I supposed to know you hadn't been kidnapped or killed even?"
Ruth had to admit she made sense. "That was pretty thoughtless of me with everything going on. I expected to be back before breakfast. I'm sorry."
"Where were you?" Dahlia repeated.
Ruth figured it was better not to stray too far from the truth in case they'd been spotted, so she said, "I was with Mr. Williams. We went out together."
Dahlia snorted. "Rufus won't like that. Giving it to him for free. You look old enough to me to not go in for all that love foolishness. Not even husbands love you. They only want you for what you can give them, whether that's children or money."
"It's a shame you think that. I can see why you would, but love is as real as God. He is love." She'd said the words boldly and without thinking as per usual, but she wasn't sorry she'd said them. They were true and she'd felt moved to speak them. Trying to hide her light under a bushel was proving hopeless even for the good of a case, but Lucy still believed her to be a saloon girl even knowing she was religious. Why wouldn't Dahlia and Amelia too?
"I saw your Bible," Dahlia said. "Do you know what would happen if you walked into a church?"
She'd rifled through her things too. It was a wonder the woman hadn't solved the mystery of the murders herself. She could see she was baiting her. Sometimes the baiters only wanted reactions and the chance to try and validate their shaky, false beliefs, but other times they secretly hoped for an answer they could believe.
She hoped Dahlia was the former, so she answered, "Dressed like this. I might be looked down on. Maybe even thrown out of the church, but if I was, it wouldn't be God doing it. God sees the heart and He knows when I repent and then it doesn't matter how dark our past is. 'Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.'"
She humphed in reply. "You're a dreamer. I've got no use for dreamers."
"Well, the words are pretty," Amelia said. "I can see why people are drawn to religion, but it would mean giving up too many of the things I enjoy. I like wearing silks, drinking, and not having to work too hard."
"And thanks to you," Dahlia said to Ruth. "Amelia and I won't be getting to go out on our day off tomorrow. Rufus said it's too dangerous."
"I think that's a wise decision," Ruth said.
"I don't. I'm so sick of men telling me what I can and can't do." Finished with breakfast, she flounced out with Amelia going to comfort her again.
Ruth could see the parable of the sower illustrated so clearly in these 3 women. Dahlia's heart was so hard that the seed would fall uselessly in it for the devil to snatch away. She heard the Word, but she didn't understand. In Lucy's heart, the seed had taken root but not deeply and when life's hardships had come, it had choked her joy and faith. Amelia seemed the most open and receptive, but she was the thorny ground, letting the things of the world compete and win.
All she could do was scatter the seeds and hope it took root. When it boiled down to it, she couldn't truly tell the condition of their hearts. Only God could. Maybe the seeds would lay dormant and take root at a later date.
Lucy hadn't said anything, which wasn't so unusual, but Ruth noticed she also looked a little out of it.
"Are you okay, Lucy? You look a little out of sorts."
"Didn't sleep good," she said. The words seemed to take special effort.
"Why don't you go get some rest then? I'll let Rufus know. I'm sure he wouldn't want you working if you're feeling so bad."
She nodded and got up to go to bed, but she almost ran into the wall. Ruth decided to go with her and steer her to her room. She must not have got any sleep at all. She was dead on her feet.
