Orphan Train Tragedy by Rachel Wesson

Author:Rachel Wesson [Wesson, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-06-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 38

A woman came forward, her husband following close behind. “Excuse me missus, but I was wondering if I, I mean we, could speak to that cute little boy over there. He has such a lovely smile.”

“Of course,” Kathleen said. “His name is Billy. Billy, come here please.”

Billy came running up to them. “Do you have a farm?”

The woman was a little taken aback. “Why yes, we do.”

“Sold. Take me,” Billy said. “I will be a very good worker. But can I play with the animals when my chores are done?”

The woman looked at Kathleen, uncertainty written all over her face. Kathleen bent down to speak to Billy.

“Billy, darling I told you before. You aren’t here to be anyone’s worker. We want a family to look after you and bring you up.”

Billy didn’t look too convinced. The woman moved closer.

“God didn’t bless me with children. I want a son. You even look like my Jeremiah, don’t he, missus?”

Kathleen wasn’t sure who Jeremiah was for a moment until the woman linked arms with her husband. She tried to think of the right words. What resemblance could the lady possibly see between the skinny looking man with few teeth and Billy’s wide-eyed innocence.

“What happened to his parents?” the woman asked.

Kathleen gestured to Liam to take Billy back to the other children for a few minutes. She didn’t want the child to overhear the conversation.

“We aren’t sure, ma’am. Billy was found fast asleep in the coal cellar of our local priest. We believe he was wandering the streets alone. Well dressed and obviously cared for, but alone. He lived at the orphanage for a while but it’s a been over two years and nobody has claimed him.”

The woman took a hanky out of her bag and sniffled.

“Oh, the poor boy. Who could do that to their own child?”

Kathleen was quick to correct her perception.

“We don’t think his parents deserted him by choice. We, at least the police and Father Nelson think it may have been an accident.”

“The police?” The woman glanced nervously at her husband.

Kathleen kicked herself. Weren’t the papers full of horror stories telling the public that New York orphans would bring the police to their door? Or the local sheriff.

“Ma’am, we wanted to check that Billy’s parents weren’t looking for him. Billy is as innocent as the day is long.”

“The little angel.” The woman beamed in the direction of Billy who was happily playing with Liam.

“Why don’t you tell me something about yourself, Mrs…” Kathleen didn’t know the lady’s name. If only she had taken the sheet of would-be families from Father Mathew. But being late had made her disorganized.

“Higgins. Wilma and Ted Higgins. We’ve never been blessed with children of our own. Just thought that was God’s way. But then our neighbors, they adopted the two cutest little girls from one of your orphan trains. They are as happy as can be. So, me and Ted, we got to speaking. Why can’t we do the same? We got a nice place, not too big but not too small neither.

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