A Questionable Death and Other Historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries (2023) by Edith Maxwell

Author:Edith Maxwell [Maxwell, Edith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781936363759
Publisher: Crippen & Landru, Publishers
Published: 2023-07-24T06:00:00+00:00

Adam and Eva

Author Note: I wrote this story from Bertie Winslow’s point of view. She often helps Rose solve cases and I wanted to give the petite postmaster one of her own.

Who wouldn’t be smitten with Adam Osgood?

My young assistant, Eva Stillwell, stood behind the counter of the Amesbury Post Office where I, Bertie Winslow, serve as Postmistress. I watched as Eva handed Adam his stamps, her eyes aglow. President Grover Cleveland also watched from his portrait on the wall. Dark-haired Adam returned Eva’s lighteyed gaze with a smile like a sunny idyll. Even their names were a match made in Eden.

I doubted this dalliance would come right in the end, though. Eva’s family belonged to the Religious Society of Friends. Adam’s was Episcopalian. Eva’s father worked at Osgood Carriage Manufacturers. Adam’s father owned the factory. Still, Adam was a gentle young man. He had an open, kind manner about him, and he adored Eva.

“Eva,” I said without harshness. “You’ve customers waiting.” Two gentlemen and a young lady formed a line at Eva’s window in air that smelled comfortingly of ink, polished wood, and mucilage.

“I’m sorry, Miss Winslow,” she answered softly.

While I sat at my desk and managed the administration of the postal system, Eva was my sole office employee. She sold stamps, calculated postage due on packages, and did every other task for our bustling town’s postal service, save making the twice-daily delivery rounds to businesses and residences. For that I had a crew of hardy men who ventured forth even in snow, sleet, and blazing heat.

Adam leaned over and whispered to Eva, bringing a blush up to the roots of her auburn hair. I’d known curly-haired Adam since he was a boy. I’d known Eva almost as long through my midwife friend Rose Carroll, also a Quaker, and I was fond of both young people.

Adam touched his bowler and turned to go. He hadn’t made it to the outer door when the tall young lady in line touched his arm. About Adam’s age, she sported a pink and black ensemble with the new slim silhouette.

“Oh, Mr. Osgood.” A fancy hat in the latest fashion, trimmed with feathers to match her dress, sat at a gravity-defying angle.

“Miss Hamilton.” Adam tipped his hat and took a step toward the door.

This was Lily Hamilton, the middle daughter of the town’s most prosperous mill owner, if I wasn’t mistaken.

“Do stay and keep me company, will you?” She batted dark lashes. “I’m so unaccustomed to be out and about doing business.”

Adam smiled politely to Lily and nodded. “How’ve you been faring?”

“I just returned from finishing school in Switzerland, where I won several prizes for my equestrian abilities. Don’t I recall you have a fondness for horses, yourself?”

I glanced at Eva in her somber green dress, free of lace or flounce. Even the buttons were plain, covered in the fabric of the dress. The cut of the garment more or less matched Lily’s, but without any of the fancy touches. While Eva handed a parcel to the next customer in line, her troubled glance flitted to Adam and Lily.

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