Chapter Thirty-Three
Monday, January 14, 1884
The Big House was back to its normal pace of life – the Christmas decorations put away and visitors gone. The family had enjoyed having the Swedish couple as guests and liked how close they were to Simon. For his part, Simon had been sad to say goodbye to Farfar and Mormor.
However, the promise that they would be back in late summer helped his pain. Further Olaf had told Simon that the house they would get in San Francisco would have room for his pony. The older man had also told Simon about the sailboat he would buy, and the young boy who had already shown an affinity for ships had smiled happily.
The rest of the family had noted Heath's expression as the goodbyes were going on and felt bad for him. Once Olaf and Maud had left, driven into town by Victoria and Jarrod, Heath had offered to take Simon out fishing. The boy had spurned the offer, saying he wanted to go play with his ships. Simon had then walked upstairs to the nursery, leaving Heath standing in the hall unhappily with Silas, Priscilla, and Nick for company.
Priscilla was almost giddy as she went across the hall this Monday to the nursery, thinking about her morning. It was to be Simon's first day of school, and her first time in town for a while. Yes, she had gone to the Christmas service, and the Epiphany service, but otherwise she had been confined since October.
Her plan was to get Simon settled at the schoolhouse, and then go get a mid-morning snack at the Sunnyside Café and talk to Sharon. After that she was going to Penny Rose, to get some new clothing items. Priscilla had been pleased that she had lost a great deal of her baby weight and was ready for some new frocks.
She looked at the outfit she was wearing and knew it was very becoming to her. It was ivory silk with inset bands of blue satin ribbon. The bodice was ruched blue satin; the sleeves and hem had ruffles of the ivory silk and blue trim. Her jewelry was pearl drop earrings, and her gold link bracelet that held a miniature of each of her boys in a diamond frame.
"Mama" Thomas Henry looked up from his breakfast and jumped up to come hug her. Priscilla scooped him up happily and did noseies with him. It was one of the special things she did with her children, along a game of 'tiny tender toesies' that always ended up with lots of giggles.
"Alden, how do you get as much food in you as you get on you?" She turned to her second son, comfortable in his prettily carved special chair with a cane weave back. The chair had the ability to rise to various heights, making it easy to accommodate any table. Nicholas had ordered the chair all the way from New York City, when she was expecting Thomas Henry.
"Mama, feed me." Alden declared and Priscilla put Thomas Henry down, giving him a conspiratorial wink.
"Senora Priscilla, good morning." Simon had risen from the table when she had entered the room. He had bowed, and Priscilla was again awed at how good his manners were. Granny Elspeth had made the comment that he had clearly been brought up with European values and Priscilla had no problems seeing that.
It was partially because of that she wanted to take Simon to school; they would arrive early to give Simon the chance to explore the school room. Priscilla had already reached out to Eugenia Lennox about the matter, knowing that with her experience in Germany the woman would understand Simon's background.
"Alden, I think you can manage to feed yourself." Priscilla declared, doing noseies with him. His laughter was loud and unbridled, and it made her smile with fondness as she thought about her husband.
"I am taking Simon to his first day of school, which is an important event!" Priscilla laughed, adding "that is why you had Swedish pancakes. Mormor Maud left a jar of lingonberry jam." She reached over to give Simon a hug, and he returned it gratefully.
"Mama can't I come along? I would love to go to school." Thomas Henry announced with firmness.
Priscilla looked at Rosalie with sympathy. They both knew that the boy was going to miss Simon, having become very close to him.
"Actually, you are going to have fun of your own today. Since it has stopped raining, I am going to have Rosalie take you and Alden for a nature walk." She knew the boys would be glad to get out of the house, after being cooped up for several days.
"Rosalie, I left some notes about plants and animals that they could look for." Priscilla turned to the Latin woman with a smile, who nodded her head in reply.
"Let me go check on Ducky, and make sure that Louisa will be in the nursery while you all are outside." Louisa was the nursery maid she had hired with the extra funds provided by Heath. She had fed the baby earlier and knew that he would be set for a while.
When Thomas Henry had been born Priscilla already knew she wanted to nurse him herself. Granny Elspeth had huffed, shrugged her shoulders, and made the comment well I know several of Her Majesty's daughters have embraced natural ways, even as the Queen does not approve. Priscilla, now nursing her third child, still embraced natural ways, as her grandmother referred to the whole process.
She and Simon came down the staircase, to see Silas waiting there, with a lunch box. Silas told Simon what he had packed for his lunch and promised to have a nice snack waiting for him when he came home. They said goodbye to the man and went outside to the portico; she had arranged with Pedro, the under houseman to have a carriage ready for them.
The large surrey drew up and Priscilla was very taken aback to see who was driving the horses. Heath sat there, looking happy as he brought the horses up with a flourish. They were pulled by two matched bays, which trotted with high style. Priscilla was touched that Heath had chosen the pair, even as she wished he were not along.
"Good Morning." Heath announced, stepping down from the driver's seat and greeting Simon and Priscilla. He greeted Priscilla and Simon, who smiled happily.
"Thank you for bringing the surrey around Heath, but you didn't have to do it personally." Priscilla offered, hoping that maybe he just wanted to wish Simon good luck on his first day at school.
"I am driving you all into town. This is a big occasion, and I don't want to miss it." Heath smiled happily and Priscilla cringed inwardly at the comment. All the good work Maud and Olaf had done could fly out the window.
Priscilla debated saying something to Heath now, but then saw how pleased Simon looked. She said a silent prayer for someone to need Heath to stay on the ranch, but it did not happen. Instead she hoped that there would not be that many parents at the school.
The next several minutes were spent with everyone getting situated in the surrey. Priscilla noticed that Simon took the backseat, while she sat next to Heath. The drive into town took about fifteen minutes, with Priscilla pointing out some of the local plants to Simon.
When they arrived at the schoolhouse Simon jumped out of the surrey, and then helped her out. Priscilla looked around the schoolyard, and saw mostly kids, but some parents too. Before she could pursue that worrisome avenue of thought a distraction was provided by another student.
"Hello, my name is Sean Flynn. You are a new student? I certainly hope because right now I am the only with red hair. How old are you?" The ginger haired young boy had come bounding over, and Priscilla noticed Sharon and Tara behind him.
"My name is Simon Folsom, and yes I am a new student. I'm six years old." The boy inclined his head as he made the statement.
"I'm six years old too. Just so you know, there are other boys our ages, as well as older; they are good sorts. We all have a grand time at recess." Sean was about to say more when his sister came up to the boys.
"This is my sister Tara, who is horse mad, just so you know." Sean introduced his sister with a fond smile.
"I have my own pony." Simon announced, not sure what else to say. His only experience with other children had been Thomas Henry and Alden.
"Could I ride him? What color is he? Do you get to ride him every day?" As Tara asked her questions Simon saw Sean give him a sympathetic glance.
"As I told you, horse mad. We actually have a pony of our own, down at Kilkenny Farms." Sean explained, going on to talk about their hometown. "Grandda Liam purchased it for us; she is a roan and we have to share her." He gave Simon a knowing glance.
"You are from Kilkenny Farms, but live in Stockton?" Simon asked with interest, being puzzled at the reference to somewhere else.
"Our Mum runs the café in town here, so we live here for most of the year." Sean explained, looking with fondness at his mother.
"I used to live in Mexico, in a city; my mother ran an inn and I was educated at home by a monk. My parents were killed and now I am in Stockton until June." Simon sighed with sadness.
"That is so sad." Tara reached over and put her hand on Simon's arm. "Our father died before I even knew him, so at least you were able to know your parents." Sean echoed her comment, surprised that his sister was so tender.
Priscilla had been watching the interaction between the children and listening to the comments. She could already see Sean and Simon becoming friends because of their ages. Looking at the three children together anyone from the outside would only see a happy family. As she made that observation a conversation she had had with her husband years ago, on their trip to Denver, Colorado came to mind.
Nick had told her about Heath wanting to marry Sharon, and how she had turned him down. He had left for Mexico late summer and had not returned to the Valley until the beginning of December.
Priscilla was very good friends with Sharon, and aware of her children's birthdays. She also knew Simon's birthday and gasped with a sudden unwelcome piece of information. Both boys had been conceived within a month of each other; Sharon had her wedding night and Heath had bedded Magda in response. Even as she was doing math in her head, she realized she needed to come back to the present.
"Sharon it is so good to see you! I was actually planning on coming over to the café to have a snack. Is Mother Flynn all right?" Priscilla knew that Sharon's mother-in-law normally took care of the children during the day. The café closed at 4:00pm.
"It is good to see you too!" Sharon hugged her friend happily. Sharon had visited her before her family had left for Kilkenny Farms. In truth Priscilla was the one person that she could express her fears and desires for her children.
"Mother Flynn is under the weather with the catarrh, so I have rearranged my schedule to bring the children to school. Good morning, Heath." Sharon looked in his direction and then shifted her gaze to Simon, who Sean introduced.
"I am pleased to meet you Simon, and I know Sean will like having someone his own age to be with." Sharon was impressed with the bow the boy gave her, and his polite greeting. She talked with him and Sean for several minutes, while trying not to stare at Heath and Simon.
Priscilla had told her about Simon's grandparents, but she never discussed the rumors that had gone around town. Sharon had been secretly relieved when the grandparents had shown up, and fully acknowledged the boy. It had been hard to think of Heath fathering an illegitimate child, with his background.
Now though, seeing Heath and Simon together, and having seen Alden on several occasions she knew the rumors were true. Sharon did not know why it saddened her, even as she reminded herself that it was none of her concern.
"You must be my new pupil Simon Folsom." Eugenia Lennox, tall with grey hair and kind blue eyes had come up to the group. She greeted Simon, who bowed in return; Eugenia inclined her had in response. "Sean, would you like to come help show the classroom to Sean?" From the schoolroom window she had seen the interaction between the boys.
"Can I come to? I want to hear about his pony?" Tara piped up, tossing her spun gold curls.
"Actually Tara, I want to hear about your Christmas and everything you did down at Kilkenny Farms." Priscilla reached her hand out to the little girl, giving Eugenia an understanding look. "Your mother showed me the dress she had picked for you for Christmas; did you like it?" She led Tara over to a bench, and Tara climbed into her lap and started talking happily.
"Did you have a good trip to see your family? How are Jimmy and Eileen?" Heath felt awkward being left alone with Sharon. In fact, he had been feeling off center since bringing the carriage around. He had not wanted to miss Simon's first day of school, and it was with anticipation that he had brought the carriage to the front of the house.
Heath was very good at reading people and had seen that Priscilla had not expected him and had not been pleased to have him come along. At least Simon had been happy to have him along.
"They are doing so well and so happy. They will be welcoming a baby in June." Sharon lit up and went on to tell Heath some other details of the settlement. Her voice was cheerful, her dark blue eyes shining, and he thought, without meaning to, how lovely she looked. He pushed the thought aside though, not wanting to go down that road. Luckily, Eugenia came out and ran the bell for the students to go inside.
"Sharon, I was planning on coming over the café, to spend some time with you; can we walk over together?" Priscilla came over to them, as Tara had scampered inside the schoolhouse. "Heath, I know you have some errands to run, so why don't we meet up in say two hours? I want to go order some frocks at Penny Rose." She had turned to Heath, who nodded in acquiescence, knowing he was being dismissed.
"Priscilla, I'm not due at the café until closer to lunch, so can I come with you to Penny Rose? We can talk there easier than at the café." Sharon responded gladly. Heath found himself standing alone outside of the schoolhouse, while the ladies headed into town.
He was now trying to figure out what to do for the next two hours. Harry would not be open for at least another hour, and he had already had breakfast so going to get something to eat was not needed. Heath then remembered Audra talking about some repairs that were needed at the orphanage, so he headed over, to see what the matter was.
Heath finished fixing the pump at the orphanage and heard the bell from the church tolling the hour. He realized that it was time to pick Priscilla up, from Penny Rose's. In truth he had already seen four other projects that needed his attention, but he forced himself to turn away. He liked to work hard, keep busy, and fix what needed to be fixed.
However, Priscilla would be expecting him to take her back to the ranch, since he had driven her in. As he thought that, he recalled her behavior, and made a plan to talk to her about it on the drive back to the ranch.
After fetching the carriage from the livery, he went over to Penny Rose's establishment. Every time he saw the place it reminded him of his early years with Sarah, their marriage and her mother. Even as the thoughts rose in his mind, he pushed them aside. Heath had firmly resolved to put the past behind him and would not dwell on old memories.
Priscilla must have been watching for him, because as he pulled up, she came out of the shop. It made him smile as she went to greet the horses, pulling sugar cubes out of her reticule for them. It reminded Heath that she was a kind person, not malicious or vindictive. He hoped she would be honest with him, about her behavior earlier that morning.
"Did you get all your errands done?" Heath asked, getting down from the driver's seat. He helped his sister-in-law into the surrey and watched as she adjusted her skirt and bustle with its many layers. Priscilla was always well dressed and striking, and he knew that Nick admired that about her.
In truth he thought the outfit was over the top but knew that she loved pretty clothes. In the past he had wondered what it would be like to have a wife who wanted to look good for you and wanted to make you happy. However, that was before he had sworn off any future relationships. His ship had sailed as he thought about Magda, Sharon, Maria, Sarah, and Libby.
"Absolutely! I ordered some new frocks, and it was lovely to spend time with Sharon. She has been wonderful with the library committee." Priscilla enthused "Her vision of what a library for the people should be is spot on, and Rufus even agreed with her! You know that as he is donating a large sum of money, we are going to name the library in his late wife's honor. It is important that he is happy with our plans."
Heath was taken aback to hear that not only was Sharon being lauded for her involvement in the Stockton community, but she had Rufus' backing. He felt his lips tighten as he thought about the man who had never welcomed him, or his ex-wife.
His head was spinning as he thought about Sharon, how she had turned him down, because she had stated that she would not be accepted in his world. Now, six years later she was in Stockton, and thriving. Heath decided to get off the subject of Sharon.
"Priscilla, I want to ask you about this morning, and your reaction when I came to pick you and Simon up." He looked over at her and saw concern on her countenance.
Priscilla sighed, but knew she had to be honest with Heath. He had to understand just what was at stake, and what the implications could be for Simon's future life. By now they were out of town and halfway to the ranch. She saw a clearing up ahead and indicated for Heath to pull over.
"Did your mother or Jarrod ever tell you about the rumors that your ex-mother-in-law stirred up, after Simon arrived?" She asked, keeping her voice calm while she tightened her gloved hands together. Priscilla saw how puzzled Heath looked and sighed.
"Penny spread a lot of unpleasant rumors about you and your private life. Suffice to say it was very unsavory." Priscilla paused and looked at him carefully. She noted that his eyes had widened, but otherwise his face was neutral. Everyone in the family knew how hard Heath could be to read.
"She just did that to make Sarah look like the victim! No one believed her." Heath rejoined in a sharp tone of voice.
"Heath, if the rumors had just affected you, we wouldn't be having this conversation. However, Simon was also the target – indirectly mind you – of what Penny was saying. He has to live here in Stockton until June and doesn't deserve to be impinged because of those rumors." She stopped and waited to see if he was connecting the dots.
"I don't see what that has to do with me wanting to take Simon to his first day of school. Maud and Olaf acknowledged Simon as their grandson and talked about what good friends I was with Magda and Erick." Heath shifted his legs and turned to face her; he was just in time to see a slight flash of annoyance in her eyes.
"Up until now, everything you have done with Simon has been on the ranch. No one in town has seen you together. Further, only family, and close friends have seen Alden." Priscilla sighed, and wished she had a mirror in her reticule. "Other than the hair, Simon looks so much like you! There is also the matter of him and Alden, who look like brothers."
"You are saying that my being seen in town with Simon could confirm the validity of Penny's rumors?" Even as Heath was taken aback at Priscilla's comment, he remembered when Sarah had first seen him and Simon together.
"Exactly!" Priscilla smiled with relief, as she went on "I can tell you that Sharon knows, because I saw her looking at you and Simon. No, she didn't say anything because it would have been rude."
It saddened him that Sharon knew the truth, and how he had done the one thing he had always said he would never do. Heath now saw why Priscilla had not been happy to have him drive her and Simon into town.
"Is she the only one outside of the family who knows?" Heath asked a worried note in his voice. The last thing he wanted to do was cause his son to experience the treatment that he had had to endure.
"Phoebe Morton will figure it out. She is my dear friend, and our children do things together. Of course, Simon will be included, and she has a girl Alden's age." Priscilla reached over and put her hand on his knee. "I know you aren't close to the Morton's, but I can talk to Phoebe. Rufus met and liked Maud and Olaf a great deal and was impressed with them. There is a slim chance he or his sons might see all the children together, but not very likely." She finished by giving him a gentle pat.
"So, going forward I should not take Simon into town at all?" Heath already knew the answer and added "I understand what you are telling me, and I wouldn't want Simon to be hurt by unkind comments."
"I was glad to see that he looked happy this morning. He has seemed rather distant since his grandparents had left." Heath offered, having tried to take him fishing or riding. Simon was willing to go if Thomas Henry and Alden were along; otherwise he played with his ships.
"I noticed that also Heath. He was sad to see them go but is looking forward to having them back." She sat up straight, as she said the next words. "Simon knows that he is going to be at the Big House, until his grandparents return. He has seemed very happy about it and was excited to go to school. Now that he has a friend, I think he will be even happier. Maybe he is just really missing his grandparents; losing his parents was very hard, and Maud and Olaf represent a connection to his mother and father."
Heath could see what Priscilla was saying, even as he did not like the reference to Simon being at the Big House. His hands were tied though, and at the end he just wanted his son to be happy. He said as much to Priscilla, thanking her for honesty, and stated that there would be no more trips into town with Simon.