Mrs. Montgomery frowned.
Maud focused on the wedding photo.
“What about Edie?” Maud said.
“Edie won’t be with us much longer,” Mrs. Montgomery said. “As soon as we can arrange it, she’ll be leaving.”
Edie was right, Mrs. Montgomery had had a plan for Maud. And even though she suspected the answer, she asked, “But why?” Poor Edie! All she had wanted was to go to school. With no place for her to stay or employment, she would have to go back to Battleford. What about her plans to become a teacher? It wasn’t fair!
Mrs. Montgomery and Father exchanged a look. “I’m surprised at your outburst,” Mrs. Montgomery said. “Edie’s services are no longer needed. That’s all you need to concern yourself with.”
Maud struggled to hold back her tears. She wouldn’t give that woman the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Maud stood up, turning away from the family photos.
“You can continue with school until the baby is born,” Father said. “But then you’ll need to stay here.” Although he appeared confident, his blue eyes pleaded for Maud to understand.
“Of course. Whatever you”—she focused on her father—“need.”
Maud excused herself, slowly making her way to Southview. She was truly stuck here. Forever. No better than a hired maid.
This was why Father had agreed to have her come. The answer was clear now: she had been sent here to be a nanny. Even imagining herself as Jo in Little Women was no use. Unlike Jo March, who had taken the job willingly, Maud had had the job forced upon her.
Did Maud ever have a choice over anything?
Edie was getting ready for bed when Maud came upstairs. “So, you know,” she said.
“I’m so sorry, Edie,” Maud said, sitting down on her bed. “It seems we are both at her mercy.”
“It’s not your fault,” Edie said, tucking her covers up to her chin. But Maud wondered if she could have somehow prevented all of this. Been better somehow. On the bed was her letter to Grandma. Maud ripped it up, letting each piece fall to the floor.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Over the following weeks, Maud said goodbye first to Grandpa, who had arrived and stayed for about a week, and then, a few days later, to Edie. Their final day together, Grandpa and Maud took a walk down Main Street toward the river, and he expressed concern over leaving her with her stepmother, but Maud assured him that everything would be fine. She must not have convinced him, because that evening over dinner he suggested that maybe Maud could come and visit the Island next summer. And while the idea felt like sunshine to her soul, she doubted she was going anywhere, at least judging from Mrs. Montgomery’s expression. Still, she was grateful to her grandpa for trying.
It was worse when Edie left. Maud had known she would be sad, but she hadn’t expected the hollow ache in her heart. The night before Edie left, they sat up late in Southview talking, and Maud cursed her stepmother for making her friend go.
“What will you do about school now?” Maud said.
“I’ll figure out something. After a few months in Battleford, I’ll head south to Regina, or go east. My family has a long history of being uprooted, leaving everything we love behind.” She frowned, but then shook it off and smiled. “Besides, Father Emmanuel wrote a letter on my behalf to the convent. Perhaps this, and my work in Prince Albert, will work in my favor.”
“It is nice to have people looking out for you,” Maud said. Why wasn’t anyone doing that for her now?
“I’m a survivor, Maud. I’ll find a way.”
“You’ll write and let me know how you’re doing?” Maud said.
“I promise,” Edie said.
The next evening, with Edie’s bed now empty beside her and with Pussy at her feet, Maud wrote until her hand ached and ink was etched into her fingers. There was a certain satisfaction in this, as though through her pain she’d been cleansed. Maud placed her pen in the ink, her hands upon the written pages, and her chin on top of her hands. The sun was coming out over the horizon, showering the prairie in light.
—
As Mrs. Montgomery’s pregnancy progressed, she did less and less. Maud did more of the cleaning and meals, taking over for Edie, as well as attending school each day. She begged Father for some help, but he said that they couldn’t afford the expense. It was only a matter of time anyway, as the baby was due in February and she would be forced to give up school.
What was the purpose of dreaming of a happy family home when it was mere fantasy? She should have listened to Grandma long ago. Maud knew now that life with Father would never have lived up to her expectations, especially with Mrs. Montgomery there. He worked so hard, but nothing pleased her. Some nights Maud could hear them arguing over money—it was always over money. She complained that he was never around, when he was out running his business—for his family!
Every evening before dinner, Father and Mrs. Montgomery had the same conversation, and then would eat in a silence that rivaled the ones at Maud’s grandparents’ house. As Maud cleaned up, Mrs. Montgomery would complain that he was always leaving her alone with “his daughters.” Father would argue how imperative it was for him to canvass for votes at the lodge, since the other local candidates were doing what they could to buy votes. She would say she missed him, and he would kiss her cheek and leave them to clean up. “It’s only until January; it will be easier when the election is over,” he’d say.
One night toward the end of October, Mrs. Montgomery was complaining about how much extra work she had to do now that Edie was gone and she had to entertain visitors on her own.
“If by ‘visitors’ you mean John Mustard,” Father said, “you know he’s more your friend than mine, and you always end up talking about old school days.” Mr. Mustard was calling two or three times a week, and Maud and Mamma were the ones entertaining him. The few times he was home, Father looked so bored. Maud completely understood; the last thing she wanted to do was socialize with her teacher.
Her stepmother sighed. “Aren’t you going to help us with the dinner plates, Maud?”
“I was about to,” Maud said.
“Good.” Mrs. Montgomery leaned against the chair. “I’m rather tired now.” She slowly stood up and held her lower back, trying to look poised as she went upstairs.
“This too shall pass, Maud,” her father said when Mrs. Montgomery was gone.
Maud doubted it, but she didn’t want to upset Father. She stopped stacking and smiled brightly. “I understand completely.” She put her hand on his arm. “Now, go to your meeting. I’ll handle things here.”