Daughter of the Loom (Bells of Lowell Book #1) (2 page)

Lilly smiled and nodded as she continued trudging up the stairway. “How much farther?” she panted. The first flight of stairs hadn’t been so bad. They were slanted at an easy angle, and she’d hardly lost her wind. But this flight was steeper and narrower. Her feet seemed to barely get a decent toehold before striking the back of the step, threatening to topple her backward.

“Almost there. Just one more,” Miss Addie cheerily called back over her shoulder. “You can leave one of those satchels and come back for it if you’re having difficulty. The next flight is a bit steep.”

Lilly heeded the warning and dropped her bandbox at the foot of the stairs. It was a wise decision. The ascent seemed never ending, and Lilly had truly despaired of reaching the top when Miss Addie finally announced, “Here we are.”

“I guessed this might be it. We couldn’t have gone much farther unless you planned to put me out on the roof,” Lilly jibed as she touched the rafter with her outstretched hand. Instantly she worried that her words had been spoken out of line. She looked to Addie to ascertain if she’d offended her, but the woman merely smiled back at her.

“I like your sense of humor, Lilly. A sense of humor is a true gift from the Lord. I don’t know how I would have survived the last six months without mine. I must admit, however, some of the girls don’t share my opinion, so don’t be surprised if you hear some of them say they’re looking to change boardinghouses. Seems no sooner do I get a new girl than I lose another. Which does bring to mind the fact that two girls moved out yesterday, and I didn’t need to bring you clear to this attic room after all,” she admitted with a chuckle. “Unless you’d prefer to be up here by yourself?”

“I’m not sure,” Lilly panted, still winded. The lumpy mattress sagged in protest as she dropped onto one of the four beds sandwiched into the tiny, airless room—there was barely room to store her baggage. Two small chests were wedged into the small space on either side of the two narrow attic windows. It appeared that opening the top drawer of either chest would be impossible without hitting the wall, and she had to turn sideways to walk between the two beds.

“You get two drawers in one of the chests, and you’ll share the bed as new girls move in. The previous keeper told me she sometimes had eight or nine girls up here, but most times just six or seven.”

Lilly laughed. “I like your sense of humor, too, Miss Addie! Eight or nine girls. Why, there’s not room for more than four in this room at best. It’s not so bad in here right now, but the heat in summer and cold in winter would most likely be dreadful.”

“I’d like to tell you that I’m joking with you about the accommodations, miss, but what I’ve told you is truly the way it is. ’Course, if my cooking doesn’t improve, there may never be more than one or two up here. These girls put great store in having good food and plenty of it. But I’m afraid my cooking isn’t quite up to the boardinghouse standard yet.”

Lilly gave her a wilted smile. “Let’s take a look at the second floor.”

Miss Addie nodded and led the way back downstairs, stopping in one of the two large bedrooms on the second floor. Lilly glanced about the room. It, too, had four beds, and the chests that lined the wall were similar to those in the upper room. However, this space was larger, and she determined that not having to contend with sloping rafters was a distinct advantage. “How many girls in each of these rooms?”

“Eight—two to a bed and two drawers in the chest. There’s a bed open in this room. Well, at least half a bed is open.” She grinned. “Nadene lost her bedmate and will probably be glad for the company. It can get rather cold up here at night.”

Lilly had no idea who Nadene was. It seemed strange to be agreeing to bed down with folks she didn’t even know, but apparently that was how things were done in the mill boardinghouses.

“I think I’d prefer to be down here,” Lilly stated. “I’m afraid Mr. Arnold didn’t give me much information regarding the boardinghouse. I have no idea how much you charge for room and board.”

“The Corporation pays me twenty-five cents, and you pay me one dollar and twenty-five cents per week. Washing your bed linens is included in the price. I’ve a list of the boardinghouse rules downstairs that each girl must agree to abide by. Remind me to have you read it over and sign the contract. I’m rather forgetful about keeping up with the paper work.” She looked over her shoulder as if to ascertain if anyone else would overhear her before adding, “That’s frowned upon, don’t you know,” she said in a hushed voice.

“I’m not sure I can afford to pay before I begin working at the mill. I can ill afford to spend the little money I have,” Lilly reported.

Holding a finger to her pursed lips, Miss Addie creased her brows in contemplation. “That does present a problem. I don’t suppose you know how to cook for a crowd of hungry girls, do you?”

“
That
I can do,” Lilly replied, untying the ribbons to her bonnet.

Miss Addie chortled and clapped her hands together. “Can you teach me?”

Lilly carefully removed her bonnet and placed it atop the dresser. She ran her hand through the chestnut curls that had escaped her braid, knowing she must look frightful. “I’m not sure I can turn you into an expert cook in six days, but I can certainly help you on your way. And you can always ask me questions after I’ve begun to work at the mill.”

Miss Addie’s rounded cheeks took on a rosy hue, and her deep blue eyes sparkled. “I think we’ve solved the problem of your room and board. I knew we were going to be great friends the minute I laid eyes on you. Come along. You need to begin my lessons. The girls will be coming home for dinner in two hours, and my preparations are far from complete. You can unpack after dinner while I wash dishes and clean the kitchen,” she instructed, already three-fourths of the way down to the first floor.

Lilly followed along obediently, listening intently as the older woman explained that the largest meal of the day was served at noon and that the girls would arrive at five minutes past the hour. “The food must be on the table when they arrive. They have only half an hour to get from the mill, eat their meal, and return. Their schedule demands that the boardinghouse run smoothly in order for them to eat and return to work on time. I do have one little doffer who helps serve—I don’t know what I would have done without her—but there’s still more work than I can manage. I’m hoping that once I get all the beds filled, I’ll be able to hire someone to help a little more, especially with the meals. But for now, I’m on my own.”

“This shouldn’t be much different from cooking for the farmhands during harvest,” Lilly replied. “How many are you feeding?”

Addie hesitated a moment. “Fifteen, including us.”

Lilly nodded. “That shouldn’t be too hard. Show me what you’ve already done.”

Two hours later the pealing of the tower bell that had tolled over the city for the past five years announced that midday had arrived. Lilly placed the last bowl of food on the table as the front door flew open. Twelve young women had soon crowded their way into the dining room, with chairs scraping, silverware clanking, and voices competing to be heard above each other as they called out for bowls or plates to be passed. The noise was deafening after the preceding hours of quiet camaraderie in the kitchen with Miss Addie. For a moment, Lilly found herself staring at the group of girls. Instead of exhibiting the manners of genteel young ladies, the girls wolfed down the meal with little attention to etiquette or polite conversation. There was no time for such social amenities here.

“This is so-o-o good,” one of the younger girls commented, her mouth still full of rice pudding. “You’ve been holding out on us, Miss Addie. This is the best meal I’ve had in ages!”

Several others nodded in agreement and one took a moment to ask, “How’d you do this, Miss Addie?”

All gazes were fixed on the older woman, some faces filled with amazement, some with doubt, and some with what appeared to be undying devotion. “Save your praises. It wasn’t my doing; I merely helped. It’s our new boarder you have to thank. Meet Lilly Armbruster.”

“You’ve hired a cook? Isn’t that what
you’re
supposed to do?” Prudence Holtmeyer inquired.

“Indeed, it is one of my duties, but I’m hoping to become more skilled, and Lilly has agreed to help. However . . .”

Before she had completed her explanation, the girls were pushing their chairs away from the table, grabbing their cloaks and bonnets, and rushing toward the door. Several took an extra moment for one last bite of the rice pudding before scurrying off. Minutes later, all was once again silent. Lilly glanced over the table in amazement, for she’d never seen anything like it. Even the farmhands that she and her mother had cooked for took longer to relax and eat the noon meal. These girls were like a colony of locusts swarming in, devouring everything in their path, and moving on. There was one difference, however: the girls would be returning in only a few short hours to repeat the routine.

“I was certain we’d prepared too much food,” Lilly commented to herself. She’d thought Miss Addie a bit touched when she’d continued to pull food from the cupboards as they prepared the noon meal.

“Oh, dear me no,” Addie replied, already reaching for two empty serving bowls. “The work is terribly hard. They build a powerful appetite, which is why they grow most discontent when their meals are tasteless or ill-prepared.”

Lilly thought of the hard work and tried to imagine herself joining the girls at such large meals. The idea struck her as almost amusing. There was no possible way she could ever eat as much food as those girls had eaten. Why, her waist would get as thick as . . . as thick as Miss Addie’s! Matthew had always liked her tiny waist.

Matthew! How he seemed to plague her mind at the most awkward of times. Lilly knew she wouldn’t mind it half so much if the ache in her heart wasn’t yet so pronounced.
I cannot allow myself these feelings
, she told herself, pushing aside the chance to relive her girlhood dreams of becoming Matthew’s wife. There was no sense in remembering the ivory satin wedding gown her mother had promised to make. There was no need to dwell on the way her heart fluttered whenever Matthew flashed her a smile. Lilly sighed and forced her attention back to the job at hand.

Addie seemed not to notice Lilly’s contemplation. Already she was humming a tune and making order out of the mess. “I’ll clear the table and wash the dishes. You go upstairs and unpack. There’s fresh water in the pitcher so feel free to freshen up. I’m sure someone as pretty as you is used to being able to see to her appearance, but around here, you have to grab what opportunity presents itself. When you’ve finished, we can decide about supper.”

“Perhaps we should plan the menu first. It doesn’t appear there’s much bread remaining. I’ll need to start now if it’s to be ready in time for supper. By the way, what time is supper?”

“The girls will be home at six-thirty. The lighting up doesn’t occur until September 21. Then supper will be later, not until seven o’clock,” Miss Addie explained.

“The lighting up?”

Miss Addie smiled. “Mercy, but you have a lot to learn. September 21 marks the date when the winter hours begin. Work commences a half hour later in the morning, but you make up for it by working a half hour later in the evening. Folks call it the lighting up because it’s dark in the morning when you go to work and dark in the evening when you return home—the lamps become necessary both morning and evening. Then, come March 21, there’s what they call the blowing out. The days start becoming longer once again and the lamps aren’t needed so much.”

Lilly nodded and reached for one of the dishes. She scraped the remnants of dinner from the serving platters into an empty serving bowl. “Seems like a sensible plan.” But Lilly reminded herself that if her own plan went well, the mills wouldn’t even be around come March 21.

Miss Addie clucked in agreement as she took hold of Lilly’s thin wrist. “Oh, but that’s not the best part. Sit yourself down for a minute while I tell you.”

Lilly seated herself on one of the dining room chairs while Miss Addie poured a cup of tea, added several spoons of sugar, and began to vigorously stir. After taking a sip of the brew, the older woman leaned forward and spoke in a hushed tone. “The very best part is the balls. There’s a Lighting Up Ball and Blowing Out Ball. Very, very fancy, I might add. Not like the parties I knew in Boston, mind you, but very tastefully done for a town the size of Lowell.”

Lilly began to rise, but when Miss Addie motioned her down, Lilly plopped back into the chair. “I really should start clearing off the dishes, Miss Addie. I’m not interested in balls or parties, but I do thank you for explaining the lighting up.”

“Well, you may not be interested right now, but you will be come the twenty-first day of September. Attending the ball is a must for all the mill girls. It’s required. Well, perhaps
expected
is a better word. Those two balls are the only time when there’s socializing among all the people who work at the mills. Why, the supervisors dance with all the girls, even the little doffers. Those are the little girls who sometimes hire on for lesser jobs like helping in the boardinghouses or removing empty bobbins in the mills.”

“Children work in the mills?” Lilly asked in stunned disbelief.

“Well, the doffers don’t work all that much. No more than fifteen minutes or so at a time. They’re usually the daughters of women who work there, and they have plenty of playtime and still attend school. They benefit from the money they earn, for usually it helps their family a great deal.”

“Still, they’re just children. They shouldn’t have to work in the mills.”
I shouldn’t have to work there, either
, Lilly thought.

“Oh, don’t you concern yourself about it.” Addie continued, “Let me finish telling you about the balls. They’re quite the event. Mr. Boott makes an appearance, along with some of the other Boston Associates. The girls look forward to those two dates all year long. You mark my words—after you’ve listened to the girls talk about the balls, you’ll be ready to don your prettiest dress and dancing slippers when the time comes.”