A Lady's Choice by Sandra Robbins

Author:Sandra Robbins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Guideposts

Chapter Fifteen

Sarah didn’t know why she had insisted on coming back to Memphis so soon. She could very well have missed the suffrage meetings, but then she might have seen Alex again. Another confrontation with him was more than she could bear.

After two days back at the school, Sarah felt restless. She glanced around the dining room, where she sat alone at the big table and sipped her morning coffee. It seemed strange without the chatter of the boarding students, but of course they were still home with their families for the holidays.

The door to the kitchen opened, and Dora Campbell entered. “Do you want anything else to eat, Miss Sarah? Maybe some more coffee?”

Sarah held up her cup and studied Dora as she poured the coffee. Her dress hung on her gaunt figure, and her brown hair lay piled underneath the ruffled cap she wore. Her arms, strong from years of heavy lifting, held a silver coffeepot in her hands. Sarah smiled at the young girl who worked in the kitchen. “Did you have an enjoyable Christmas, Dora?”

The girl shrugged. “I spent most of the day in my room by myself.”

Sarah took a sip of coffee and set her cup in the saucer. “Don’t you have any family?”

“No, ma’am. But it was a good day.” She smiled, and Sarah was struck by how big her eyes looked in her narrow face. “It’s always a good day when you can rest.” She reached for Sarah’s plate. “If you’re through with this, Miss Sarah, I’ll take it back to the kitchen.”

“Thank you, Dora. Thank Mrs. Thompson for fixing my breakfast even though I was the only one eating.”

Dora nodded and turned back to the kitchen, but she stopped before she got to the door. “Oh, I forgot to tell you something.”

“What?”

She walked back to the table. “There was a policeman here to see you while you were gone. He said he was investigating Christine’s murder and wanted to talk with you. I told him you’d be back after Christmas.”

Sarah rose from her chair and faced Dora. “Did he say if they’d found out who killed Christine?”

“No, ma’am. I don’t think they have because there was another girl killed down on Beale right before Christmas.”

Sarah gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “Was it similar to Christine’s murder?”

“Well, I don’t rightly know, ma’am. I heard the maids talking about it. They said she was strangled. Was that how Miss Christine was killed?”

“Yes.” Sarah propped a shaky hand on the table to steady herself.

Dora frowned and shook her head. “That was a shame what happened to Miss Christine. She was so nice to the help here. Always giving us little gifts. Nothing expensive. Just little trinkets, like that pin she wore all the time.”

Sarah pulled her thoughts away from Christine and directed her attention back to Dora. “What pin?”

“She had this little pin that she wore on her dress every day. I asked her about it once, and she said it was in a box of her belongings when she was delivered to the orphanage.

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