The Roswell Legacy by Frances Statham (parable of the sower read online .TXT) 📗

from now, if plans for their marriage had worked out.

“I’ll try not to be any trouble, Mrs. Montgomery,” Ginna said.

“What a delightful accent. English?”

Ginna hesitated. She looked at Allison first and then replied, “Yes.”

“And how long have you been in the States?” Lila inquired.

“A little over six months.”

Richard glanced toward the train. “We’d better board. Plenty of time to become acquainted later on. But we don’t want to miss the train, do we?”

“All aboard!” the voice called out for the second time.

Up and down the train track a flurry of good-byes took place. And then a most unusual procession began to march down the platform. Mouths fell open; good-byes were stopped midway as twelve women with painted faces and gaudy costumes of every color in the rainbow rushed toward one of the cars farther down.

The older woman in the group frowned and called out, “Come along, Souci. Stop flirting with the man. This trip is supposed to be educational.”

The young coquette looked with languishing eyes at the handsome young man. She blew him a kiss and said, “Au revoir, mon chéri,” and then rushed to catch up with the others.

“Oh, my dear. Just look. They’re getting on our train.” Lila’s voice was indignant. “It’s a good thing that Ginna isn’t traveling alone if that’s the kind of passenger allowed on this trip.”

The people on the platform returned to life. Allison hugged Ginna and Lila, then watched them disappear. She waited to catch a glimpse of them once they’d taken their seats inside.

Richard, lingering behind, was the last to board. He stepped up into the vestibule of the car as the conductor removed the portable steps and brought them inside.

“Who were those women passing by a moment ago?” he inquired.

The conductor grinned. “That’s a New Orleans madam and her girls. She’s taking them to the fair to broaden their minds, I heard. Stopped off in Washington for a few days to see the sights here first.”

Richard laughed. “The madam’s probably taking them to earn a little extra money instead.”

“Oh, no, sir. That’s what I thought, too. But evidently it’s not the case. And I hear the madam’s paying for the entire trip herself.”

“Then she must have some awfully rich customers in New Orleans.”

“Reckon so.”

The train started moving. And as Allison stood on the platform waving good-bye, Richard walked down the aisle to join his wife and Ginna.

The train was subtly divided for different classes of people regardless of the price paid for the ticket. The less desirable cars were the ones downwind from the kitchen-dining cars, with the cooking odors drifting into them at all hours.

But Nelly Rose and her girls were not aware of this. They were too busy looking at the lavish draperies and the velvet tufted seats that could be adjusted into beds, with suitable curtains to block off the view from the aisles.

The only unhappy ones in the car were Souci, one of the madam’s girls, and the frightened Meara McClellan, Lila Montgomery’s personal maid.

This was Meara’s first trip away from home. She sat with her hands crossed in her lap and a frown marring her well-scrubbed face.

The other girls were cross with Souci for being late, so she was ostracized for the moment. “Alors, it matters not a picayune. You’re all so boring, anyway.”

And with that pronouncement, Souci flounced down the aisle and plopped herself into the empty seat beside Meara. “Do you mind, chérie, if I sit here for a little while? The others are being so impossible. I have no wish to talk with any of them.”

Meara could only nod and stare at the young woman whose eyes were a strange shade of green. She was beautiful, like a forbidden flame. Meara wanted to reach out and touch her, knowing full well that she could be burned if she did.

“I’m called Souci. What is your name?”

“M-Meara.”

“And you are traveling alone?”

“My mistress is in another car.” Despite herself, Meara said, “You’re very beautiful.”

Souci smiled. “Would you like to be beautiful, too?”

“Oh, no. I’m much too plain. I could never change.”

“No, you could become très chic, with a little artifice. Would you like me to show you?”

Meara nodded.

“Then I’ll be back.” Souci stood and went to retrieve her makeup case. The idea of transforming this plain girl into one of them would give her something interesting to do, Souci decided. It would certainly help to relieve the tedium of the trip, with all of the others snubbing her.

In the luxurious car ahead, Lila made herself comfortable. With Richard engrossed in his newspaper, Lila leaned over to Ginna. “I do hope my maid is getting along all right by herself. This is her first trip away from home. And I expect she’s quite frightened.”

“I remember my first trip away from home,” Ginna commented. “My school chums and I crossed the Channel to France. And even though we could see the coast for most of the time, we were all quite frightened that the boat would sink.”

“At least that’s one thing that Meara won’t have to cope with. We’ll be on land the entire way.”

Richard put down his paper and took a good look at Ginna. “Did you learn French in school, Miss Forsyte?”

“Yes. A little Italian also. My father felt at the time that one should know other languages as well as one’s own.”

“Very commendable. Then you’ll be able to converse with some of the foreigners at the exposition.”

“Really, Richard. Don’t put such thoughts in her head. Morrow will be much more careful with Jonathan’s fiancee than that.”

Richard’s laugh was uninhibited. “You’ve forgotten, Lila. Morrow works regularly at one of the settlement houses. She already knows that foreigners don’t have two heads.”

“But they’re so different from … from us.”

Richard told Ginna, “If you thought your visit was going to be all parties and gaiety, then you’re bound to be disappointed. Morrow is a ‘do-gooder.’ “

Ginna’s eyes came alive. “My father has a friend, a doctor who works at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. I understand