Mail Order Match Maker (16 page)

“I agree!”  Alex went into a tirade about how many times he’d tried to get his mother to leave his father with him, but she’d always worried about how she would support him on her own.  “My Ma would have let herself die before leaving, just because she was worried about what I would eat!”

Higgins sighed.  “It’s always that way.  My former employer and I have helped countless women out of that situation over the years, and the women always say the same thing.  They can’t support their families on their own.  I wish I had an answer to the problem.”
 

Alex stared down at his fried chicken, pushing it away after a minute.  “I do too.  Someday I will!”

Higgins smiled at the boy’s spirit.  He’d help him in any way he could.  They had a similar passion.

*****

Max went to the lumber camp soon after Higgins left and Harriett felt like she was rattling around in the huge house.  She knew Max didn’t want her to work again, but she needed to find something to do to fill her time.  Finally, after an hour, she put on a light wrap and left the house, wandering aimlessly through the streets.

She hadn’t walked far when she saw a large house with a big “for sale” sign in the front yard.  She walked closer and peered in the window at the front of the house to see what it looked like inside. 

“May I help you?” a voice asked from the street.  The man was impeccably dressed and had his dark hair cut short.

Harriett turned, embarrassed to be found sneaking a look at the house.  “Are you the one selling the house?”

The man nodded.  “The former occupants have moved back East and have asked me to take care of its sale for them.  I’m Jeremy Wilson.”  He approached across the yard and held out his hand for her to shake.

“How big is the house?”  Har
riett looked back toward it, an idea sparking in her mind. 

“Eight bedrooms,” he told her.  “The couple who lived here hoped to have many children, but they moved back East before even starting their family.
  The wife needed to get ‘back to civilization.’”

The house was beautiful and looked to have been built in the past five years.  It was obvious it hadn’t been vacant for long.  “May I see it?”

Jeremy nodded.  “Yes, of course.  Are you looking to move?”

Harriett shook her head absently.  “No, but I may be in the market to buy a house if this is the right one.”

He unlocked the door and she followed him inside, looking around her.  All the furniture had been left behind and was covered with white sheets.  The air was slightly dusty, as if the house had been vacant for a short while.  She followed him through the house and up the long flight of stairs.  By the time they reached the top her leg throbbed, but she wanted to see every room.

“How much are you asking for it?” she asked when she saw the house would be perfect for her purposes.  The man named a figure that made Harriett wince.  She shook her head sadly.  “That’s a little too much for what I have in mind.  I’m sorry I wasted your time.”  She reached out to shake his hand and turned away, intent on getting down the long flight of stairs.  This house would have been perfect, but she was certain there were other houses in Seattle that would work just as well.
  Now that she knew what she wanted to do, she’d search for the right house.

“Wait,” Jeremy called.  “How much do you want to spend?”

Harriett turned back to him and named a figure much lower than the one he’d told her he was asking for.  He shook his head a bit, and named a figure in the middle.  Harriett thought about it for a moment, and nodded, her eyes lighting up with excitement.  “Thank you.”  She shook hands with the man.  “I can bring you cash or a bank draft whenever you’re ready for it.”

Harriett had the money from the sale of her parents’ house and from the sale of Arthur’s house in New York.  She had purchased the house in Beckham with a small amount of the proceeds, but she could sell that house now too.  Yes, purchasing something so large would be a drain on her funds, but she had plenty. 

Jeremy gave her a card with his name and address printed on it.  “Come by and see me Monday morning.  A bank draft will be perfect.”

Harriett was ready to dance with excitement.  She couldn’t wait to find Higgins and tell him what she’d done. 

*****

Higgins sat looking at Harriett in her small parlor, wondering why she’d sent for him.  Did she already have someone she needed him to investigate for her?

“How may I help you, Mrs. Farmer?” he asked politely.  He was surprised at how much he resented being dragged away from his new family.

Harriett’s eyes danced as they met Higgins’s.  “I’ve done something, and I haven’t even told Max about it yet.”

Higgins raised an eyebrow, surprised.  “What did you do?”

“I bought a huge house two streets over.  There are eight bedrooms.”   She looked at him as if she expected him to understand exactly what her words meant. 

He stared at her with confusion for a moment before asking, “For the women?  The abused women?”

She nodded.  “Would you and your new wife be willing to be caretakers of the house?  You can have two of the rooms, so her son can stay there with you.”  Her eyes pleaded with him to say yes.  “I can’t imagine she wants to stay in the house where she was treated so badly.”

Higgins thought about it for a moment.  “I’ll talk to Mildred, but I think she’d like to help other women in the same situation she was in.”  He smiled, his eyes lighting up with excitement.  “We could take in as many as six women at a time as long as they didn’t have more than one or two children each.”

“I know!  I was thinking if she doesn’t mind, your Mildred could cook for them, and you could take care of anything that needs to be done.”  She sighed.  “There wouldn’t be a lot of money for paying you, but I’d make sure you got all your food and your lodging free.”

Higgins shook his head.  “I wouldn’t accept payment for my time.  Helping women get away from men who abuse them is my passion as well as yours.”  He frowned.  “How will you fund the house?”

Harriett shrugged.  “I have purchased the house outright with money from the sale o
f my parents’ home.  Max doesn’t want me to use any of my money anymore, so this is something I can do with it.  When the money I have runs out, we’ll do fundraisers to make ends meet.  We’ll do whatever it takes to get battered women away from their abusers.”

“We’ll call it ‘The Seattle Home for Battered Women.
’” 

Harriett smiled.  “I like that.”  She looked up as Max stepped into the room.  She’d purposefully left the door open, so if he arrived home from work and she was sitting there with Higgins, he would know he was welcome.  “Please join us, Max.”

Max walked in and sat beside her on the sofa, taking her hand in his and kissing her cheek.  “What are you doing here today, Higgins?  How is married life?”

“Married life is very good, sir.  I came over today, because Mrs. Farmer had something she wished to discuss with me.”

Max’s eyes went to Harriett.  “Something important?”  His eyes met hers questioningly.

Harriett bit her lip.  She’d agreed to purchase the house on Thursday afternoon, and here it was Monday evening, and she had yet to tell Max what she’d done.  She wasn’t deliberately hiding things from him, but she didn’t think to tell him every little detail either.  She knew she needed to work on doing that.  “I bought a house this morning.”

Max shook his head in disbelief.  “You don’t like this one?” 

“I love this house, Max.”  Her free hand covered his.  “I purchased a house for women who have been abused and have nowhere to go.  Higgins and Mildred are going to run the house for me.”

“When did you decide to do this?” 

She sighed.  “Thursday afternoon.  I should have told you.  I wasn’t trying to hide it from you, but I was trying to make sure I had everything worked out for it, so I could tell you what we were going to do.”  She paused, staring up at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand.  “Higgins and Mildred will live there rent free and they’ll take care of the women who come in.  There will be room for up to six women and their children.  Meals will be provided and they’ll be helped until they can get back on their feet and support themselves.”

“I wish you’d told me sooner, but I can’t complain that you’re helping people.  I wish there had been someone to help you when you were in a bad situation.”  His eyes looked sad as he said the words, and she knew she had a lot to make up for.

Higgins excused himself and left, promising to come back the following morning after talking to Mildred and Alex.  He strode for the door
with a slight smile on his lips, and Harriett thought for a moment that it was good to see him happy.  She turned to Max more fully.

“I bought the house without even really knowing I was looking for one.  I had the idea of starting a home where women could go to be taken care of after an abusive marriage when Higgins said he was going to marry Mildred.  I went for a walk after you went to work on Thursday, because I was feeling useless with nothing to do.  You don’t want me to work, but you’d said I could do volunteer work for a charity, and I was walking along thinking about what charity I would help, because I need something to do.”  She paused looking up at him for understanding.  “I saw the house for sale, and suddenly something clicked in my mind.  I went up and looked in a window, and the solicitor left in charge of selling the house saw me there.  He showed me around and we negotiated a price.”

Max nodded slowly.  “So now this is the charity you’ll be helping with?”

She laughed.  “You and I both know I’ll be running this charity with Higgins’s help.  And the new Mrs. Higgins, of course.”  She shrugged.  “I have to do this, Max.  I’m sorry that I wasn’t more honest with you about my plans, but I have a burning need inside me to help the women who have been abused.  I have to make this work.  Can you understand that?”

Max gathered her into his arms.  “I think starting this charity is a very good idea.  I think you’ll do an excellent job and help a lot of women.”  He pulled back and looked down into her eyes.  “I just wish you would tell me these things before you tell your butler!”

“I know and for that I’m truly sorry.  I’ve gone to Higgins first about so many things over the years that I don’t even realize I’m doing it anymore.  He’s been my father, closest friend, and confidante for all of my adult life.  It’s hard to remember that you need to know things before he does, because it’s just so natural for me to go to him.  I promise I’ll try.”

He sighed.  “I just don’t want to walk in on a conversation and hear you tell him he’s going to be a grandfather, before you even tell me I’ll be a father.”

Harriett’s tinkling laugh filled the room.  “I promise you’ll be the first to know when I’m expecting.”
  She pressed a kiss against his lips.  “Every single time I’m expecting.”

He kissed her soft lips, content for the time being.  “I hope so, because I don’t want to have to hurt the man for knowing about my child before I do.”

Harriett grinned.  “There’s no need to worry about that.”

*****

For the next month, Harriett worked night and day to get the house ready and open to the public.  Higgins and his new family moved into the house and began preparing it for others.  When Mildred saw Harriett again, she dissolved into tears, walking into the other woman’s arms.

“I’m so sorry I refused to tell you anything that day.  I should have known there was more behind you than there seemed to be.”

Harriett hugged the woman tightly.  “I’m just happy you accepted Higgins’s help and you’re in a better situation now.”

Mildred blushed.  “John is wonderful.  Thank you for sending him to me.”

Harriett was startled at the woman’s use of Higgins’s first name.  She was sure she’d known what it was somewhere in her mind, but she couldn’t have told anyone his name without thinking about it first.  She was happy Higgins had found someone who obviously cared about him, though.  He was a man who deserved all the happiness in the world.

“Are the rooms okay?  Did you pick the best rooms for you and your son?”

Mildred nodded.  “Higgins said you’d insist we take the biggest bedroom for our own, but I feel bad doing it.”

Harriett shook her head adamantly.  “Don’t.  This is your permanent home.  The others are guests here, some of them long-term guests, but guests just the same.”  The two women walked to the kitchen together.  “How would you feel about throwing a dinner party here for the upper-class in Seattle?  I’d love to be able to raise some money right here in the house before it’s put to use for its intended purpose.”
  She’d been thinking about a dinner party for a while, and it made sense to do it in the home the women would be living in.

“I think that’s a good idea.”  Mildred seemed to think about it for a minute.  “When do you think we should hold the party?”

“In two weeks on a Saturday night.  Can you cook for fifty or so people or should I have my cook come over and help you?”  She eyed Mildred with a smile.  “I’ll be sending my maids over to help serve, of course.”