“Nor I. My father has lost his right hand. He will be truly sorry to hear of this.”
“Your father is a good man. Joe always said he was the best to work for.”
Elise nodded. “This is Joe’s final month of pay.” She slipped the two coins into the widow’s hands.
Mrs. Brett’s eyes widened. “I thought he had his month’s wages when he came home sick.”
“No. The way Papa arranged things, there’s always one final accounting.” Elise smiled. “If you need anything, please get in touch with my uncle, James Monroe, at the shipping office. He wanted to make sure you knew he was there for you.”
Tears came to her eyes anew. “Oh, this means bread and cheese for the children. Thank you so much. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do.”
Elise gave her a hug. “We’re family. I’m sure my father will come by to see you when he’s back in port.”
“I don’t know how I’ll live without my Joe. He was such a good man.” The widow wiped her tears with a black handkerchief. “My poor children,” she sobbed, and Elise embraced her again.
“You will be in our prayers, Mrs. Brett. You needn’t bear this alone.”
The older woman let Elise cradle her for several long minutes. It was all Elise could do to keep from breaking into tears herself. Then Mrs. Brett’s mother came to comfort her daughter, and Elise bid them both good-bye. She made her way to the carriage and was grateful when the driver helped her up.
“I feel so completely exhausted.” She took her seat opposite her uncle. “All of this just reminds me so much of Mama.”
“I thought the same,” her uncle replied. “I wish I could have been at the ship service. I know Caroline felt the same way.”
“I know, but since the doctor was unsure what had caused the fever, he thought burial should be immediate.”
“I do understand. As I said before, it’s comforted me to have a stone that I can visit. Would you like to see it?”
Elise hadn’t considered it before now, but she nodded. “I would like that very much.”
Her uncle gave the driver the new instructions. “It’s a beautiful location in the cemetery. A stream runs through that portion, and it has a view of the lake. I thought of how much she loved the water.”
Elise thought it sounded perfect.
They reached the cemetery only moments later. The driver returned to open the carriage door, but this time Uncle James alighted first and helped Elise down.
“You can see how well-kept the grounds are. Your grandparents are buried here, and one day it will be my resting place as well.”
“It is a lovely place. All of the trees keep it cooler,” she said as they strolled past the tombstones and mausoleums.
They climbed a slight rise, and at the top, her uncle stopped and pointed to the stone that bore her mother’s name. “This isfor Mary. Over there are our parents’ resting places, as well as a plot for Aunt Martha and me.”
Elise admired the lovely grassy area with engraved marble stones marking each place. “I pray it remains empty for years to come.”
“Amen,” Uncle James replied. He sighed and returned his gaze to his sister’s stone. “I think your mother would have approved. The water is in sight, and as a child, she loved shade trees.”
Elise could imagine her mother lying in the grass to stare up at the branches. “Mama once told me she loved to lie under trees and look up through the leaves to the sky. She said that when the sun shone down through the leaves just right, it reminded her of stained-glass windows in church.”
“I remember her telling me that as well.” Uncle James smiled.
“It was thoughtful of you to include a spot here for her. It’s such a pity her mother and father disowned her after she married Papa. They didn’t even give him a chance to love them.”
“No.” Her uncle shook his head and stared off toward the lake. “At first, I didn’t want her to marry him either, but she begged me to give him a chance. I could see their love for one another was sincere. Your father never asked for money or any other form of assistance. He was too proud, I suppose. He always supported her and kept her happy, however. I once asked Mary if she missed anything from her old life, and she told me she only missed her family. I mentioned that once at dinner to Mother and Father, and their only comment was that she should never have left, then. It was clear they were unwilling to forgive her.”
“They never forgave her?” Elise couldn’t hide her surprise.
“On their deathbeds they did, but of course it was too late. Your mother was far away and had no idea they were dying.”
“But Mama told me she never held it against them. The way she talked, I thought they had made up long before.”
