Alice’s lips parted as she leaned forward. Father’s pronouncement was so unemotional, so final. “A home for unwed mothers?”
“We think it’s best,” Mother said, offering a gentle smile. “As soon as possible.”
“No.” Alice shook her head as she put her hand over her stomach. “I won’t let them take my baby away from me.”
“We’re at a loss, then,” Father said. “As much as we’d like to help, you cannot continue to live here.”
“But.” Alice looked between them, desperation on her face. “You’d turn me away?”
I stepped forward, afraid Alice would share the truth and weeks of trying to keep it a secret would be for nothing.
The front door opened, drawing our attention to the foyer. Thomas strode in, as if he’d only just gone out for a quick errand and had returned.
“Hello,” he said as he took off his hat and tossed it onto a nearby table.
“Thomas!” Mother rose from the sofa, her face lighting up with joy. “We weren’t expecting you.”
My shoulders stiffened at the sight of my brother. I couldn’t put his recent visit to the brothel out of my mind. Was he finally here to take Alice away?
“Hello, son,” Father said as he, too, rose. He shook Thomas’s hand. “It’s good to see you again.”
Alice was still seated, her face pale, but I saw the recognition in her eyes. If what Thomas said was true, he’d once cared for Alice before Andrew came along. But had Alice cared for him?
“Who is your guest?” Thomas asked, though I knew it was only for our parents’ benefit.
“This is Miss Alice Pierce,” Mother explained, appearing a little uneasy. “Haven’t we mentioned her?”
“No.” Thomas made a show of crossing the room to offer his hand to Alice. Even though he was playacting, I saw through the ruse. There was pain and intensity in his gaze. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Pierce. You’re the reason I’m here.”
She stood, a question tilting her brow.
“Whatever do you mean?” Mother asked him.
Thomas glanced in my direction but made no move to greet me.
I didn’t greet him, either.
“You can imagine my surprise when I was asked to summon Miss Pierce from this address,” Thomas said to my parents.
“You were asked to summon her?” Father frowned. “By whom?”
“Her aunt,” Thomas said.
“My aunt?” Alice blinked in confusion, and I wondered if she even had an aunt.
With a brief but withering look in my direction that the others might not have noticed, Thomas continued, “Your aunt Gladys visited the Saint Paul Police Department looking for you. She heard about your plight and would like for you to live with her.”
“My aunt Gladys?” Alice looked more bewildered than ever.
“How wonderful,” Mother said. “It’s an answer to prayer. You won’t need to go to Iowa after all.”
“I would like to speak to you in private, if I may,” Thomas said to Alice.
Nodding, Alice followed Thomas out of the parlor and onto the front porch.
“This couldn’t have worked out better,” Mother said. “I wonder why Alice didn’t reach out to her aunt sooner.”
I suspected I knew. There was no Aunt Gladys, but Thomas was making good on his promise to get Alice out of our parents’ house. I wasn’t sure how he would convince her to leave, but now that she knew my parents had plans to send her to an unwed mothers’ home in Iowa, it might not be so hard.
