LITMIR.BIZ

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the Stone mine. And, apparently, the folks at the parsonage also cared for several other children as well.

      All told, Mitch counted a dozen children, in the age ranges of his own. A little girl about the same age as Thomas stepped forward and said, “Hi, my name’s Nugget. Want to go play bandits with us?”

      His own children looked at him expectantly.

      No one had ever asked them to play before. Usually, they would approach other children, ask them to play, and the children’s mothers would take them by the hand and usher them away with warnings about “those people.”

      Polly smiled at him. “It’s all right. They’ll stay in the backyard.” Then she looked over at a little girl standing next to Nugget. “Right, Caitlin?”

      “Yes, Polly.” The little girl sighed and looked like she was about to whisper something to Nugget.

      “And no ropes!”

      The two girls sighed like Polly had accurately predicted what they had up their sleeves.

      “Or water,” Maddie said. “Or you’ll all be doing the washing, then sent to bed with only bread and milk for supper.”

      “And do leave the rocks on the ground,” Gertie said, looking pointedly at a boy who appeared to be of similar age to Rory.

      Gertie smiled at him as the children went outside. “And now that we’ve probably frightened you with all the warnings we’ve given the children about their behavior, let me assure you that—”

      “Don’t bother,” Polly said, pointing at her soiled dress. “His children can take it. I have this courtesy of a flour fight over rapped knuckles and tattle tales.”

      “More laundry,” Maddie sighed. “I do so hate laundry.”

      “Maddie is our housekeeper,” Frank said, patting the other woman on the arm. “And she does a fine job. However, I was thinking that Alan Forester’s widow is in need of extra money, and she’s been taking in washing. I’m sure she’d be happy for the work.”

      “What use would I be, then?” Maddie glared at him. “I’ll be thanking you to not be giving my work to someone else to do. You just tell those rascals to stop getting so dirty, and we’ll be fine. I’ll get tea for everyone.”

      Maddie stomped off, and the other adults laughed.

      “Please, sit.” Gertie gestured to an empty chair. “I apologize for the craziness, but you should know right off that chaos is something Polly does very well with. The children truly aren’t bad, but they are lively. If yours are as lively as ours, you’ll need all the help you can get.”

      Her words were meant in solidarity, that he could tell by her smile. And for the first time in a long time, Mitch didn’t feel quite so alone.

      “Which is why I offered my services,” Polly said, looking at him with a ferocity that surprised him. “Your children are quite a handful, but I know how to handle them.”

      Mitch let out a long sigh. Polly’s offer was probably the best he was going to get, considering he’d gone through every nanny agency in Denver. He’d have to send to New York, or perhaps even London, to find someone willing to take on his children. No one wanted to take care of the Taylor Terrors.

      But that wasn’t the only reason people didn’t want to work for him.

      He cleared his throat. “Perhaps. But I feel compelled to share some of our family’s circumstances with you before you make a decision.”

      Then he looked around the room. Could he trust them with his secrets? Some of them perhaps. “I hope we can all keep this information confidential.”

      “Of course,” they all said at once, looking aghast that he’d even suggest it.

      Mitch debated about what information to share—most of it could be confirmed by reading the papers, and there were certainly even more rumors and innuendos. But the whole truth? No one knew the whole truth. He wasn’t even sure he did.

      “The reason we came to Leadville is I needed to leave Denver. Our family owns a successful chain of mercantile stores, but the rumors and gossip surrounding my wife’s death were hurting business, and my family was receiving threats. I’m staying with my brother until talk dies down.”

      Mitch’s throat ached as he tried to form the words to explain Hattie’s death. “You may have read the story in the papers. My wife was Hattie Winston, the famous actress who was found murdered in her bed at the Orrington Grand Hotel.”

      Silence rang through the room so loud, it was almost like thunder. But then Mitch realized it was his heart. He’d only admitted the truth out loud to his brother, Andrew, and Iris. To tell strangers seemed almost...irresponsible of him. Not that he’d given any information that hadn’t been in the papers.

      “Hattie’s scandalous affairs have always tainted our family. The good families have long stopped receiving us, and now, with her death, people are outright hostile. Hattie ruined a lot of lives.”

      His chest tightened at the thought. He’d liked to have said that Hattie had ruined his life, because in many ways, she had. But without Hattie, he wouldn’t have his children, and without them, what would he have then?

      Mitch looked up at the others. “My children know few details about what happened. I have deliberately kept the information about their mother’s indiscretions from them. They loved their mother, and I won’t have their memories tainted. It’s all they have left of her.”

      For all of Hattie’s faults, when she was with the children, she did appear to love them. And they had adored her. Everyone adored Hattie Winston. A reviewer once wrote about her that “to be in the presence of Hattie Winston was to be in the sun, and to be without was to be in the midst of the cloudiest of days.”

      Mitch had spent his time in Hattie’s sun. Unfortunately, when a person spends too much time in the sun, he gets burned.

      Polly gave him a sympathetic smile. “I think I speak for everyone here when I say that none of us have a problem with that, and we don’t judge you, the children or even Hattie.”

      She glanced over at Frank, who nodded. “One of the many components of the ministry here is that we care for the least of God’s children, and that includes those tainted with scandal.”

      Maddie entered the room, bearing a tea tray. “I have refreshments.”

      Polly turned away from him and looked at Maddie. “Were the children still out back?”

      “Screaming like wild animals. I’m surprised you don’t hear them.”

      “Nugget?” Polly’s eyes darted to the door.

      “Leading them all as always.”

      Polly turned back to him. “Nugget is Joseph Stone’s half sister. She is the product of a liaison between his father and a woman of the night. I’m not telling you this to gossip, or to single her out from the others. In fact, I would suggest you never say anything to indicate Nugget being any different from the rest of her family or that she is not equally loved and valuable, because every single person in this household will hurt you for it. But I want you to understand. Whatever scandal their mother was involved in, it has no bearing on the worthiness and love your children deserve.”

      Though Polly’s speech was meant in defense of someone else’s child, her fierce love for Nugget made Mitch want to weep. He never wept when Hattie died, even though he probably should have. But here, knowing that what he’d always hoped for his own children might actually be possible...

      Frank came over and put his hand on Mitch’s shoulder. “I know you bear a heavy burden, even more than what you’ve shared with us. But we are here, as servants of the Lord, to help you bear those burdens.”

      Mitch’s eyes filled with tears. He couldn’t help it. For twelve years, he’d carried the shame

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