“That on my second visit, I’m family?”
Tatiana grinned. Rust-streaked iron grey hair sagged in a knot at her neck. “Exactly. That means it’s all right I didn’t tidy up for your visit.” She glanced at Luke and Barney. “If you’re with her, let’s call you family, too, by extension, how’s that?”
“Makes sense to me. But Barney will stay on the porch.” The dog shook, spraying rainwater from his fur, then sat at hismaster’s command. Luke offered his arm, inviting Elsa to lean on him as they entered the cottage.
Concern thatched Tatiana’s brow, suggesting she’d noticed that Elsa’s limp was worse today. Or maybe she’d seen Elsa cringe with the pain, though she’d tried hard not to. “Well, some days these old bones don’t behave, either. You hang on to me, dear, and we’ll be a matched pair all the way into the bedroom.” Her warm laughter was a balm to Elsa’s soul. In truth, Tatiana’s bones couldn’t be all that old, despite the joke, which made the stiffness in her joints all the more troubling.
Elsa hobbled off with her hostess through the sitting room. On her way, she counted three pots on the floor, collecting water from leaks in the roof, and one male canary.
“Well, hello, little one!” Pausing at his cage, Elsa spoke to the small yellow bird, who gave a bright, cheerful trill in reply.
“Meet Sunny,” Tatiana told her. “He belonged to Mrs. Van Tessel, but she asked me to take care of him several months before she passed.”
“Really?” Elsa and Sunny eyed each other. “I imagine he was good company for her in that big house.”
“Oh, he was indeed. She was sad to part with him, but her memory was slipping near the end. She kept forgetting to clean out his cage, and whenever it got dirty, he got sick. He wheezed and squeaked and had a hard time breathing.”
Elsa nodded. “Yes, canaries can get asthma from unclean surroundings.”
“Didn’t Mrs. Van Tessel have a servant to do that for her?” Luke asked.
“She let most of her staff go in that last year.” Tatiana went to a small bookcase and pulled a sheet from inside one of the books. “The one maid she kept had an allergy to little Sunny, so Mrs. Van Tessel took over the duty. At least, as far as she was able to. The poor dear. I can’t count how many times she came to me inthe garden, telling me Sunny was sick. I came in with her each time and found the same cause, and then went in and cleaned it all up myself. At last, she decided she couldn’t trust herself to keep up his care and asked if I would take him. It hurt her to do that, but she’d rather be lonely than cause him to suffer. She wrote this and bade me keep it here for her to read if she came to visit later.”
Elsa accepted the note, aware of Luke standing near and reading over her shoulder. The handwriting matched Birdie’s entries in the field notebooks and diaries.
Now, Birdie, this is Birdie. Take a deep breath, and calm down. You may not understand why Sunny is here with Tatiana instead of back in the parlor with you, but he belongs here now. You kept forgetting to clean his cage, and he kept getting sick. He’s well taken care of now, and you can visit him whenever you like. But this is his home, for his own good. Tatiana and Danielle are loving and capable stewards.
“And did she visit him here?” Luke asked. His gaze rested on the little bird, his throat puffing out in rhythmic song.
“Many times.” Tatiana’s eyes glassed over. “She wrote herself a similar letter to read upon waking every morning, telling her where Sunny was. Otherwise, she’d be so upset to find him missing. Either Danielle or I would go check on her during breakfast and escort her here if she wanted to come. And then one day, it was like she was meeting Sunny for the first time. She hadn’t remembered he’d ever been hers.”
Elsa shook her head. “I had no idea her memory had worsened to such a degree. That must have been painful to watch. Will you continue to keep Sunny?”
“Oh my, yes.” The woman returned the letter to its place on the bookshelf. “Mrs. Van Tessel was so good to my family for somany years. It’s no trouble at all to care for her bird. And now, dear, it’s high time we take care of you!”
Elsa followed her into the bedroom while Luke waited in the sitting room. “Here you are.” Tatiana laid out a calico dress that looked to be her Sunday best. The tie around the waist meant it would fit Elsa fine. “Take your time, now. Leave your dress with me, and I’ll hang it on the line outside. It’ll give you a reason to come back for it later.” She winked.
“My reason is you, Tatiana.”
The woman threw her arms around Elsa in a quick embrace.
Laughing, Elsa pulled back. “Now you’re wet, too!”
“Pish! Small price to pay.” Tatiana left, shutting the door behind her.
A breeze swirled through a crack between the window and its pane, tickling the hairs on Elsa’s neck. Paper curled away from the wall in the corners. But the dress on the bed was clean and smelled of lavender sachet, likely made from the lavender Tatiana grew on the grounds. Easing onto the edge of the bed, Elsa began changing into it. Her shoes were soaked, but she would wait until she was back at the mansion to take them off and let them dry.
Luke’s low voice sounded through the door, but she couldn’t make out the words. Then the sound of footfalls on the roof, followed by pounding, told the tale.
With a satisfied sigh, Elsa finished tying the belt about her waist and made her way, unsupported, out of the room. The pain was deep and throbbing, but she had to manage it. She couldn’t rely on a kind soul to escort her until she recovered, it simply wasn’t practical. Favoring her bad leg, she brought her wet dress outside and paused to lean on the porch railing.
Tatiana stood in the yard, watching the roof. “I’m to catch him if he falls,” she said.
“So he can flatten you?” Elsa laughed.
“Good point.” She cupped a hand to her mouth and called up, “You’re on your own, dear!” With mirth in her voice, she clapped her hands in Elsa’s direction. “Throw it here, child! No sense in wasting steps, eh?”
After wadding up her dress into a sodden ball, Elsa threw it at Tatiana, who then went only a few steps to hang it on the line, whistling as she did so. If joy was contagious, Elsa felt herself catching it from this woman, who had burrowed into Elsa’s heart. Lowering herself into a rocker, Elsa considered the puzzle that was the mother and daughter Petrovic. In many ways, Tatiana had the spunk and spirit of a much younger woman, while Danielle seemed wise beyond her years. Elsa would miss them both once her project here was completed.
