The boys looked at one another, and then Zebulun nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Let’s see what we can find.” He didn’t bother to ask if they’d like to take off their coats. He remembered feeling safer keeping his meager belongings with him when Father left. These boys didn’t even have a bag—just the clothes on their back, and threadbare clothes at that. Where had they sheltered the night before? Had they been cold? Scared? He hated to think that they had suffered through the storm, only to be abandoned today. But he suspected their suffering had started long before now.
They slowly followed him, not letting go of one another, their eyes roaming his home.
The breakfast he’d enjoyed with Emmy only an hour before was still on the table, cold and half-eaten. Ben cleared away the dishes and set them to the side, then he stoked the fire and put the frying pan over the heat. “Do you like eggs?” he asked.
Zebulun nodded, but Levi shook his head. Ben smiled to himself. It was the first response he’d gotten out of Levi. “What do you like, Levi?”
The little boy looked around the kitchen, his gaze resting on the bread and jam. “I like toast and jam.”
“Then that’s what you’ll get.” Ben sliced a couple pieces of bread and looked at Zebulun. “What about you? Do you like toast, too?”
Zebulun nodded.
“Why don’t you two have a seat at the table. I’ll get some milk for you while we wait for the food.”
The boys did as he suggested, needing to let go of each other to take their seats.
“Do you know your names are from the Bible?” Ben asked as he placed the bread on a pan to put into the oven.
“Yes, sir,” Levi spoke up, confidence in his answer. “We’re tribes of Israel.”
Ben’s eyebrows rose, impressed that a boy so young would know about the Tribes of Israel. Someone must have taught him.
“My name is Benjamin,” Ben said, trying not to pay them too much attention, lest they get nervous, but trying to hold up the conversation to keep their minds preoccupied. “It’s also a Tribe of Israel.”
Zebulun looked impressed, but Levi didn’t show any response to the revelation.
Ben grinned. “We just need to find Asher, Judah, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Issachar, Gad, Dan and Joseph, and then everyone would be here.”
The boys looked at one another, clearly confused at the string of strange names he’d just said.
Ben’s smile fell and he took a deep breath. What would he do with these boys? He wasn’t equipped to care for them, yet he didn’t know who could. Abram and Charlotte Cooper had just welcomed their fifth child less than three weeks ago, and Jude and Elizabeth Allen had their hands full caring for their twin girls, only two months old. With the national recession, and troubles closer to home, he could think of no one eager to take in two extra children. Ben had the financial resources—he just lacked the skill and experience, not to mention the help.
The only thing he could think to do was go back to the Hubbards and ask Pearl for advice. She had become a surrogate mother in the community. An honorable woman of wisdom and discernment. If anyone could help, it would be Pearl.
* * *
The bedroom was smaller than Emmy anticipated, and there was only one bed she’d have to share with the girl named Rachel. There were four hooks on the far wall, a single window looking out at a snow-covered world, and a rag rug on the floor. The space was so tight, it would be almost impossible to dress properly without bumping the walls. She thought of the large room she’d slept in the night before at Ben’s home and sighed. How would she get the privacy she craved, or the necessary space to study here? A cursory glance around the house had suggested there were generous public areas—but those rooms would also hold men. Lots of men. Too many men for Emmy to get anything done if she took her books to the parlor or dining room to study. Maybe there was another space she wasn’t aware of. She’d be sure to ask Mrs. Hubbard.
Her trunks were now in the attic, with two long flights of stairs in between. She’d taken only the necessary items she’d need, but she suspected she’d make that trek up the stairs several times a day.
With a final glance around the room to make sure her few items were in their place, she entered the kitchen at the same moment as a young lady she’d yet to meet.
“Hello,” Emmy said. “You must be Rachel.”
“And you must be Emmy.” Rachel set a pile of folded towels on a worktable and smiled. “Welcome to Little Falls.”
Rachel was not a girl, after all, but a young woman in her midtwenties with shiny black hair and large brown eyes. If Emmy wasn’t mistaken, she, like Ben, had Indian heritage, though her English was flawless and lacked any hint of accent. She was a beautiful woman, and Emmy wondered for a fleeting moment why she wasn’t married.
“I’m sorry to intrude on your space,” Emmy said, indicating the small room.
“I don’t mind. It’s nice to have another lady in the house again.” She opened a cabinet door and placed the towels inside. “They come and go so fast.”
“Is Mrs. Hubbard close at hand?” Emmy moved through the kitchen, not wanting to intrude on yet another room Rachel occupied.
“She’s in the parlor, setting her feet up.” Rachel smiled. “I told her to take a little break with that baby coming any day.”
“Thank you.” Emmy left the kitchen and walked down the long hall to the foyer. She didn’t want to bother Mrs. Hubbard if she was resting, but it was important to find a room to work, and the sooner the better. With school starting in two short days, she needed to prepare.
The parlor was beautifully decorated with floral wallpaper, wide plank flooring painted blue and a large piano in the corner.
Mrs. Hubbard sat in a chair near a window, a sewing project in hand, while three men sat at a table in the opposite corner, a card game between them. When Emmy entered, the men immediately stood.
“Sit yourselves down,” Mrs. Hubbard said to the men. “She probably didn’t come to see you.”
Emmy smiled at Mrs. Hubbard and nodded an acknowledgment to the men, who listened to their landlady and stayed on their side of the room.
“What can I do for you, Miss Wilkes?”
The front door opened, letting in a gust of wind and snow. A man walked over the threshold with two boys in tow, holding hands.
“Ben?” Mrs. Hubbard rose from the chair, holding the small of her back as she stood.
Ben ushered the boys into the house and then closed the door behind them. They stood like little statues, their eyes wide beneath the felt brims of their flat caps.
The pastor took off his knit cap and held it in his hand, nodding a greeting to Emmy before turning his attention to Mrs. Hubbard.
“Who are these lads?” Mrs. Hubbard asked.
Ben glanced at the boys, and then stepped around them, coming into the parlor. He spoke quietly. “Their aunt just left them with me.”
“Are they your relation?”
Ben shook his head, his eyes filled with concern. “I’ve never met them or their aunt before. She left them with only their names and the clothes on their back. I don’t know who she is, or where she is going. The only thing I know is the name of their pa.”
“Well, I’ll be.” Mrs. Hubbard looked around Ben. “They’re cute little