No Place for a Lady by Vivian Vaughan

Author:Vivian Vaughan
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626818491
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 1915-06-08T16:00:00+00:00

“Mornin’ Miss Maddie.” Lucky shuffled into the room. “MISS MADDIE! What do you think you’re doin’?”

Madolyn leaned over the basin, squeezing her eyes against the sting of soapy water that dripped down the sides of her face. “Could you bring me a pitcher of clear water, Lucky?”

“Ain’t nobody ever tole you, you can’t wash your hair in a hand basin?”

“A woman does what a woman must,” Madolyn responded, quoting Miss Abigail. For the first time in days, she figured Miss Abigail might approve of something she was doing. Cleanliness was naturally next to godliness.

She heard Lucky set down the breakfast tray, felt her pick up the pitcher from the dressing table.

“It’ll take a minute, honey. Used the last of the hot water for your tea.”

“I don’t need hot water. Just dip a pitcher from the container in the hall.”

“It’ll be cold as field mice’s feet.”

“So was this.”

“I’ll swan,” Lucky clucked to herself; her words drifted off when she left the room to fill the pitcher. “Here it is, honey, but you’re agonna catch your death.”

“Not likely in this heat.” Madolyn covered her eyes with her hands, while Lucky poured clean, cool water over her head.

“You ain’t gonna never get all the soap out this way.” The plump little maid grumbled on, while she squeezed soapy water out of Madolyn’s hair. “What you want to do this for, anyhow? Saturday’s just around the corner.”

“I couldn’t wait for Saturday. Not after all that dust at the railroad trap.”

“Ah, so that’s it.”

“That, whatever you mean, isn’t it at all. I’m going out to my brother’s and I want to look my best.”

“Can’t say’s how it’s agonna help you out none, not with folks like Morley Sinclair. Now Mr. Tyler, he’s another story—”

And one Madolyn did not want to discuss. Not the day after bidding him good-bye. “I think it’s rinsed as much as possible under the circumstances, Lucky. When you get downstairs, would you remind Clements he’s to drive me out to Morley’s today?”

“Sure thing, honey.”

“And tell Goldie I’ll be back tonight. For her not to cancel the women’s quilting session tomorrow.”

“Miss Goldie ain’t too sure that’s agonna work.”

“Of course, it will work. The women know to leave home with bags of scraps and a quilting needle. They know to use the outside staircase. Goldie said you could set up a quilting frame in the spare room next to Mr. Grant’s.”

“That’s where Clements stored them trunks o’ yours.”

“The room next to it,” Madolyn explained.

“I don’t know, honey. I don’t know. Looks to me like you’re borrowin’ trouble.”

“No woman borrows trouble, Lucky. The men in our lives thrust it upon us. What we make of it is up to us.” Again she quoted Miss Abigail. Fleetingly she thanked her lucky stars that she was still able to recall a modicum of her mentor’s teachings. She certainly hadn’t recalled any the day before, while watching Tyler and his vaqueros load their cattle. Nor afterwards.

Arriving at the railroad trap, Tyler had stationed her off to the side, behind a railed fence.

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