LITMIR.BIZ

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trunk that had belonged to Papa.

      Martha noticed the trunk, too. “Jude was meaning to bring your pa’s things to the attic.” She went to the trunk and lifted the lid. “I think there will be a few things in here you’ll like to have.”

      Elizabeth slowly followed her to the trunk, unsure if she could face more memories of her father. She had been angry and hurt when he left them, and then overwhelmed with the burden of her responsibilities. In her head, she wanted to believe she had forgiven him—but her heart wasn’t as certain.

      Martha pulled out a daguerreotype and handed it to Elizabeth.

      Elizabeth set Rose on her feet and ran her fingertip over the cool metal. “Mama.” It was the only picture they had of their mother, and Papa had brought it with him when he left. “I almost forgot what she looked like.”

      Grace stood just inside the door, her detached gaze looking anywhere but at the picture.

      “Mama?” Rose asked, tugging on the sleeve of Elizabeth’s dress. “Is that my mama?”

      Elizabeth bent to show Rose the picture for the first time. The lantern light flickered over the image, making it appear lifelike.

      “She looks like you.” Rose glanced up at Elizabeth. “She was pretty.”

      “Grace and I look like Mama.” Elizabeth put her hand on Rose’s cheek. “You look more like Papa’s family.”

      Martha had remained quiet as she watched them, but now she made a clicking noise with her tongue. “Poor dears. I’ll get this linen changed so you can go to sleep.”

      Elizabeth helped her strip the bed and then put on the clean sheets. Andrew came into the sitting room with their luggage and soon they were all set for the night.

      Martha looked around one more time and then said to Elizabeth, “If you need anything else, I’ll be in the kitchen at the back of the hotel until the ball is over.”

      “Thank you.” Elizabeth closed the door of the suite behind her, then she returned to the bedroom and found Grace helping Rose unbutton her dress to change into a nightgown.

      It was just Elizabeth and her sisters, alone again. She looked at both of them, feeling, as always, that she had somehow failed. “I had no idea Papa had a partner. It changes all my plans.”

      Grace glanced up at her but didn’t say anything.

      Elizabeth took a deep breath and put on a smile for Rose’s benefit. “I’ll trust God that it will work out just fine. He didn’t forsake us in Rockford and He won’t forsake us here, either.”

      “Speak for yourself.” Grace pulled Rose’s dress off over her head. “The way I look at it, He didn’t do us any favors before and He won’t do us any favors now. We’re no better off than when we were in Rockford—at least there we had friends.” She went to Rose’s trunk and took out a nightgown, her movements quick and awkward.

      It didn’t pay to argue with Grace when she was in this frame of mind. The friends Grace had in Rockford had been leading her in a direction Elizabeth didn’t want her to go, but Grace did not agree.

      Instead of fighting, Elizabeth untied the ribbon under her chin and removed her bonnet with deliberate care. Rose watched her older sisters closely, and though Elizabeth could not control how Grace acted, she could control her own behavior.

      Grace slipped Rose’s nightgown on over her head and began to unlace her boots. “What will we do?” she asked Elizabeth. “Will we stay?”

      “Of course we’ll stay.” Elizabeth squatted down to help remove Rose’s boots. “This is our hotel and I plan to operate it to the best of my ability.”

      “How?” Grace sat on the bed. “We might own half the business, but no man will allow you to have a say in how he runs his establishment.”

      Elizabeth took off Rose’s stockings and turned down the bedcover. She motioned for Rose to climb in. Thoughts of her old employer, Mr. Brown, filled her with terrible memories. He owned the general store Elizabeth had worked at in Rockford, and he had come to depend on her for all aspects of the store’s operation. She had done everything from stocking the merchandise to managing the books, and he had never once given her credit. When someone complimented his store, he’d boasted about his business acumen.

      The job had kept her and her sisters fed while Grace had finished school, and she found she had a natural knack for the work, but she had been forced to resist his advances from the first day. It had become harder and more wearisome with each passing month, especially when his wife assumed Elizabeth had been guilty of appalling things at the very end. Each time she said she was leaving, he would increase her pay and treat her better for a time. Truth be told, there were so few jobs available for a woman with her limited education, she couldn’t give up the work, no matter how difficult it was.

      She had looked forward to doing as she pleased with the hotel business—but now she would be forced to bend to another man’s will. Would Mr. Allen be just as horrible to work with?

      “There’s only one thing to be done,” Elizabeth said to Grace with more confidence than she felt. “We will need to raise enough money to buy Mr. Allen’s share of the hotel.”

      Grace stopped working on her boots and looked up at Elizabeth. “Why would we want to do something like that? Why don’t we sell our share to Mr. Allen?”

      “Mama and Papa spoke of owning a hotel for as long as I can remember, but they never had enough money to pursue the venture,” Elizabeth said. “We can’t give up on their dream now—especially when Papa wanted it this way.”

      “Their dream?” Grace asked with sarcasm in her voice. “Or yours?”

      “Of course it’s their dream. Don’t you care about their legacy?”

      Grace scoffed. “I don’t give a fig about this hotel or Mama and Papa’s dreams. Papa abandoned us and I don’t owe him a thing.”

      Elizabeth’s chest tightened and she wanted to cover Rose’s ears. It had been this way with Grace since their father left. Before Mama died, Grace had always been sweet and kind—a little mischievous, but never mean. The best thing for her would be to find a good husband, and the sooner the better. She needed to be settled in her own home and getting on with her life. She didn’t need to be saddled with their father’s hotel and a little sister. Those were Elizabeth’s responsibilities. She had forfeited her own happily-ever-after when she chose her family over James. What man would want her with all her responsibilities now? Isn’t that what James had said? She came with too many problems.

      Her sisters deserved better, and she would do whatever she could to ensure their happiness. She would find Grace a good husband as soon as possible and provide for Rose to the best of her ability.

      Elizabeth met Grace’s gaze and she knew her face revealed the depth of sadness she felt.

      For a moment, it looked as if Grace might soften, but then she inhaled a breath and kicked off her second boot. “Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”

      Rose looked up at Elizabeth, searching for reassurance. The unconditional love in her big brown eyes was the reminder Elizabeth needed to keep fighting for Grace, for her parents’ dream and for her own future.

      Elizabeth winked at Rose and gave her a smile. “It’s time to sleep.”

      “I forgot to say my prayers.” Rose climbed out of bed and knelt on the floor. She said her nightly prayers and then got back into bed.

      Grace had put on her nightgown and sat beside Rose. “How will we raise enough money to buy Mr. Allen’s share? It could be thousands of dollars.”

      “Maybe we can get a loan from the bank.” Elizabeth tucked the covers in around Rose. “Regardless, we’ll have to do extra work to pay for it. I’ll speak to Mr. Allen about all of that tomorrow. For now, get some sleep and don’t worry.”

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