Chapter 8

The room was still in darkness when Bobby woke up on the morning of December 18th, just exactly a week before Christmas. He got out of bed as quietly as he could, but Fred said, "I'm awake too. What are you doing?'

"I need to go downstairs and get th' stove going so your mama can have hot water to wash with," Bobby said. "Until she hires a maid, somebody's got to do it."

"True. I'll go with you."

They dressed in lamplight and went downstairs, where Bobby showed his friend how to build a fire in the stove and how to put the big kettle on to heat water for Louisa to wash with. "They're expecting us for breakfast over t'other house," he said, "so I won't bother making coffee this morning, just the water for washing."

"Right. When the water boils, then what?"

"Then we pour it into that big can, mix it with cold so's it won't scald nobody – anybody – and I'll take it up."

"No, I will. She's my mother; I should be the one to take it up."

"Fine by me. "

Fred tried to be as quiet as he could, but building up the fire in his mother's room made some noise, enough to cause her to stir. "Who's there?" she asked.

"Only me, Mother; I'm just building up your fire. We've got hot water for you."

"Hot water? Oh, Fred, you didn't have to do that!" she said as the flames in the fireplace blazed up, lighting the room.

"Well, Mother, I wasn't going to let you wake up to a cold room or wash in cold water, and besides, it's a good skill to have. Here's your water. "

"I'm getting out of bed right now. From now on, I'm going to get up first, so you don't have to wait on me."

"Yes, ma'am."

Louisa made quick work of washing, since she'd had a lovely bath only the day before. She dressed, thankful that the black bombazine mourning gowns Will's mother had insisted she order buttoned in the front with jet buttons; it meant she could dress and undress herself without help from a maid. "Maybe I won't hire a maid," she thought. "Maybe I'll learn to cook and just have someone come in to chop the firewood and do the laundry. Won't Mother Stetson be shocked if she finds out I'm doing my own cooking and cleaning?"

She giggled at the thought, which was becoming more attractive by the minute.

Dressed and with her hair neatly coiled behind her head and covered by a black snood, she went downstairs. Fred and Bobby were waiting for her; as they walked across the street, Fred said, " Mother, Bob and I need to talk to Major Davis about something that happened last night in our house."

"In our house?" Louisa said.

"Yes. There's a secret way into the attics, Mother; we heard someone up t here in the middle of the night, but by the time we got dressed and got up there, he'd gone."

"Oh, my stars! He was in our house, and you went up there, just the two of you?"

"Yes, but we were armed, Mother; I had Papa's pistol and Bob had the poker. We blocked the door with a heavy trunk so he couldn't get back in, but we need to tell Major Davis about what happened."

Louisa was still trying to absorb the fact that her son, aged twelve, and his younger friend had taken it upon themselves to confront the intruder.

"Mother, we were perfectly safe; I know how to handle a pistol and he was gone before we ever got to the attics; he must have heard us coming or something, because he left in a big hurry," Fred said confidently.

"Oh, Fred, I'm so proud of you," she said. "That was such a brave thing to do."

"I certainly wasn't going to let him get anywhere near you," Fred said stoutly. "Now we just need to find out how he got in and why he was up there in the first place."

"Well, we won't have t' wait long t' tell the major," Bobby said, pointing to Matthew and Amanda, who had just come around the corner and were walking toward them. "They musta come for bre'fast too."

Bobby ran over to his foster parents, threw his arms around each of their waists in turn, and said, "Major, me and Fred had a real 'venture last night at his house. Somebody snuck into the attics by a secret stair and was bangin' around up there so much he woke Fred up. We got dressed and got Fred's daddy's pistol and went up there, but he'd done run away and shut the door. We blocked it, though, so he can't get back in that way."

"Good heavens, Bobby, all this on their first night in the house?" Amanda said.

"Yes'm, that's right. Miss Louisa didn't wake up, though, and we made sure she wasn't bothered."

"That was very good, Bobby," Matthew said. "You and Fred showed good judgment, especially by taking the pistol. I assume Major Stetson showed him how to shoot it at some point?"

"Oh, yes, sir, and after he died, it came to Fred."

By this time, they'd reached the front door of Amanda's old house; Amanda opened it, called out, "Daniel! Mother! We're all here, and Fred and Bobby have quite a tale to tell you."