Whirlwind (35 page)

“The four of you under this roof have all been battered by life. God brought you together and has special plans for you. Daniel, He counted you worthy of the charge, and He’ll give you strength and wisdom as long as you put your trust in Him. We’ll all be praying for you.”

Long after the pastor left, Daniel held his wife and smiled into the dark. All this time, he’d been making it so difficult when the truth was plain to see. He’d even seen part of the picture—he’d recognized how Millicent helped him past his grief and showed him how to be a good father. He’d been attracted to her from the start. God stopped the ship in the middle of the ocean and gave Arthur chicken pox . . . and still, Daniel didn’t see the truth. He wanted to wake Millicent up and kiss her silly—but that would have to wait. For now, he rested and savored the peace he felt with the Lord and with his bride.

“Millie? Millie, honey, wake up.”

Millicent snuggled into the warmth of her pillow, but it moved. She tried to pull it back, but it was—“Daniel!”

“We have to go. Come on.”

“But it’s dark out. Where are we going?”

“I can’t say. Here. You need your shoes.”

Thoroughly disgruntled, Millicent put on her shoes. Daniel laughed, and she saw nothing funny about the fact that she’d gotten her boots on the wrong feet. “It’s your fault. Couldn’t you wait to take me someplace at a decent hour?”

“I’ll make it worth your while.” He kissed her nose and shoved something over her hand.

“My bracelet!”

“Here’s her shawl.” Someone tossed it over her shoulders and tugged her to her feet. “You must go now.”

Daniel decided she was too slow, so he swept her up and carried her across the road to the railroad tracks, sat down on something, and it started to move. Millicent gasped and clutched him. “I have you, dear. All is well.”

Everything didn’t seem exactly well, but being in Daniel’s arms felt nice. It took a moment for her to realize the little platform on which he sat was somehow connected to a railroad handcart manned by the Van der Vort brothers. “I don’t recall what I cooked for supper, but I’m never eating it again,” Millicent muttered. “I’ve never had a wilder dream.”

Daniel tucked her face into the hollow of his neck and murmured, “God willing, this is going to be a night for dreams.”

When she opened her eyes again, they were in the next town. Daniel set her on her feet and walked her to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff stood by his desk, and several papers fanned across it. From the way he glanced at his pocket watch, he’d rather be home in bed. Another man stood next to him. He extended his hand to Daniel. “Clark? Jones.”

“Jones.” They shook hands. Daniel wrapped an arm about her waist but didn’t present her.

Mr. Jones overlooked that omission. “Mrs. Clark, the matters we will be discussing are highly sensitive. Before we go any further, I must have your vow of confidentiality.”

When he’d merely said names, she hadn’t known his nationality; with his speaking more, Millicent identified Mr. Jones as being English. “Daniel, you know about this.” She caught herself. “Of course you do. That’s why you brought me here.

Mr. Jones, I trust my husband implicitly, therefore I agree.”

Jones nodded. “Mr. Eberhardt served Her Majesty, which was why he absented himself from the children. The last day he saw them, Mr. Eberhardt had reason to suspect confidentiality had been breached. Considering the dangers associated with his profession, Mr. Eberhardt had provided for his daughters’ future and named a guardian if anything befell him. By sending the girls away, he’d ensure their safety. After Eberhardt’s untimely death and until matters could be legally settled, the butler used some letters of business authority and wrested control of the girls.”

Jones paused a mere second. “He also provided for our country’s security. A code we’ve sought for some time finally came into Eberhardt’s keeping. Your bracelet, Mrs. Clark, contains that code.”

“I’m sure that’s quite important, but please tell me about the girls. There was no family. Mr. Eberhardt relied heavily upon Alastair. I would expect he’d—”

Smith shook his head. “He designated you, Mrs. Fairweather-Clark.”

Already reeling, Millicent let out a strangled gasp.

“As you are married, Mr. Clark had to consent to the responsibility—”

“Privilege,” Daniel corrected. He wrapped his arms around her. “I instructed him to bring our daughters to us at once.”

“Daughters.” She could scarcely form the word. First, he’d taken on her and Isabelle. Then, Isabelle’s baby. He’d always been exceedingly kind about Audrey and Fiona, but exercising compassion in no way compared to taking on the lifetime commitment of rearing two children. Her husband could have quietly refused, and she would have never known; yet he’d wanted them right away. And he’d called them . . .
ours.
“Oh, Daniel, thank you.”

He held her tight. “Where are they, Jones?”

Jones’s chin lifted ever so slightly. “They’ll arrive tomorrow. Circumstances require retrieval of the artifact you possess. As lives have been lost over it, leaving the girls in the care of others was the safest choice.”

“Dear, we need to sign the adoption papers, and Mr. Jones needs the bracelet.”

She couldn’t take off the bracelet fast enough. “Why did we come here to conduct this business?”

Jones checked the bracelet carefully and seemed more than satisfied with it. The sheriff behind him finally spoke. “Security measures, ma’am. For you and the girls. Meeting away from your hometown seemed wisest.”

The handcar ride back to Gooding went fairly fast. The brisk night air had Millicent huddling in her shawl, and she kept tying knots in it. Daniel looked down at her and cuddled her close. She pushed away, but then started shivering and decided cuddling was acceptable after all. Hadn’t she just prayed about this very thing?

“Millie? Is something wrong?”

Panic overtook her, and she blurted out the first thing she could think of. “My boots are still on the wrong feet.”

“Tying the fringe of your shawl won’t remedy that.”

“You should have scheduled more time for me to put on my boots.” She snuggled a little closer. “I won’t be cross, though. After all, you brought over my girls.”

“From now on, they’re
our
girls.” He sounded as proud as could be.

Stars twinkled down on them, and he held her tight as the countryside whizzed past. He’d said it was a night of dreams coming true, and he’d been right.
The only thing that would make it perfect would be if he’d kiss me.

Daniel’s head dipped down. Millicent’s heart skipped a beat and her breath caught. His lips brushed beside her ear, making her tingle all over. “If you’re concerned about being ready for the girls, fret no more. Piet and Karl plan to paint a room and put up a pair of white wicker beds. Hope and Annie promise to sew curtains. I can’t remember if the flowers on the material are sweet peas or snapdragons, but they’re pink and lavender.”

Gathered tight in his embrace, Millicent gazed up at him. Tears of joy filled her eyes. He’d bothered to do the little things that would make Audrey and Fee feel at home.

Arms tightening a little more, Daniel lifted her slightly. Before Millicent knew what he was about, he’d oh-so-gently pressed his lips to hers, then brushed his lips to her cheek and whispered, “We need to talk later.”

They came to an abrupt halt. “So,” Karl said, slapping Daniel on the back. “Was she surprised with her wedding gifts?”

Millicent let out a nervous little laugh. “You’ve not known me long, Karl, but have you ever known me to be quiet? The whole way home, I’ve been speechless!”

The Van der Vort brothers roared over that. They all went back to the mercantile, and the men scoured every nook and cranny of the store to be sure no one was there. Finally, everyone else left, the doors were locked, and she was alone with her husband.

After taking a big gulp of air, Millicent shuffled back a step. A clump of knots at the front of her shawl swayed forward, then banged and struck her in the midriff with surprising force. She put her hands there, beneath that clump, and started worrying the hopeless tangle of fringe. “Did you remember to get birdseed for Widow O’Toole?”

“I was busy. She can have all she wants tomorrow.”

Millie caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of the window and about shrieked. She’d been thinking starry-eyed, romantic thoughts, yet she looked like a guttersnipe! “I . . . You . . . Your list. You need to write it on your list. It’s important. It should go on the schedule, Daniel.” She threw her head back and moaned. “Look what you’ve done to me! You’ve made me think about lists.”

Slow and steady, he stalked toward her. “You might think about them, but you never stick to them. You’re in no danger of becoming organized, Millicent.” He paused. “And I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Hope mingled with uncertainty. Millicent looked at him. “I love you, Millie.” He hadn’t just said the word. Emotion resonated in his deep tone, shone in his eyes, and caused him to trail his fingers down her cheek. “Since the moment you tied a knot into that pillowcase and yanked out Buddy’s ears, I’ve been captivated. We’ve had a rough start, but God’s pouring His blessings out on us.”

She backed away from him as her fingers scrabbled with the tangled fringe. “Daniel, please don’t say anything more. Not right now.”

He yielded no ground. “Why not?”

“I’m not going to ruin such a special moment in my life by telling my husband I love him when I look like a gust of wind blew me in.”

The most handsome smile in the world lit his face. “Too late. You just did.” His arm wrapped around her waist while the other hand cupped her head. “I’m glad you love me.” His head lowered, his lips met hers, and she went weak in the knees. When they parted, she was breathless.

“Admitting you love me wasn’t all that bad after all, now was it?”

“Oh, Daniel.” She sighed. “I may as well admit that I’ve longed to say I love you for half of eternity.”

He rested his forehead against hers. A sweet sense of intimacy surrounded them. All of the passion she’d longed for now glowed in his eyes. “Millicent . . .”

She started to giggle.

He pulled away. “Precisely what is so funny?”

She tried to wiggle out of her shawl.

He laughed in disbelief. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want to hear my very first declaration of love when I’ve knotted myself into a shawl!”

Daniel’s smile took on a decidedly rakish tilt. “You’ll recall from the life jacket incident, Millicent, my love, that I’m adept at doing away with knots.”

Epilogue

Four days later

D
addy, don’t stop!” Daniel reeled in the kite string. “It’s lunchtime, Fee. We’ll fly it again later.”

Wrapping her arms around his knee, Fiona hugged him.

“Okay.”

Millicent had spread a huge blanket in the field for a Sunday afternoon picnic. It would be their family’s first, and the family had grown tremendously. Daniel hadn’t told Millicent the other part of the surprise: The girls hadn’t traveled alone. Daniel invited Alastair and his wife, Cook, to immigrate with them. They’d accepted with alacrity. Alastair and he were masters of schedules and order. Thanks to Cook, burned food was but a fond memory and bicarbonate of soda no longer qualified as a nightly dessert.

Plopping down on the blanket, Daniel mentioned to Millicent, “This morning, Phineas asked me how to go about arranging an adoption.”

She turned so quickly, he wound up with a half dozen deviled eggs in his lap. “Annie’s boy?” Hurriedly cleaning up the mess, Millicent enthused, “That would be so wonderful!”

“You made it possible by suggesting the bracelet for the grand opening drawing. We men struggle to find a way to win a woman’s heart.”

Fiona crawled over and sprawled between them. “Are you talking about fairy tales?”

Millicent caressed Fiona’s pigtails. “A real-life fairy tale.” “I fried enough chicken to bury Napoleon’s army,” Cook said as she passed out the plates. “You can tell your stories later.”

Arthur stuck his plate on his head like a hat, folded his hands, and prayed, “Foo goo!”

“He’s your son, but I don’t know why you let him act like a Chinaman,” Cook muttered.

After lunch, Fee tugged on Daniel’s sleeve. “You promised.”

“I did.” He reached for the kite.

“No, not that. The fairy tale.”

Millicent smiled at him. “Their very favorite thing.”

“Mine, too.” He winged out his arms, and the girls settled on either side of him. “This is a true story. A wonderful, Jesus-made-it-happen love story.”

Audrey sighed with bliss and Fee wiggled. Millicent watched him, her brow puckered a little with curiosity. He smiled back.

“Once upon a time, there was a fair maiden. She was the most beautiful girl in the land, and this is the story of her whirlwind romance. . . .”

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Barry Moreno, the librarian at Ellis Island. I’ve been to Ellis Island three times. After speaking to Barry, I long to go back and see it all again at least twenty more times. When I exhausted all other avenues of finding an answer to something, Barry proved to be an unfailingly kind and professional resource. His encyclopedic knowledge of the island is fascinating, and he has my deepest gratitude. Our nation is very fortunate to have someone of his caliber and dedication serving as he does. Thank you, Barry!