He nodded. “I was about to leave town and I still had it in my cart. I know to whom it belongs, so I couldn’t leave without bringing it to you. Remember what I said, but keep it hidden. Someone might try to take it from you.”
He used his cane to push himself off the bench and stood close to Briar. “Be careful. The end is sharp.” She took a step back. He tipped his floppy hat at her, and was down the stairs and up the street before Briar found her voice.
“What’s that?” asked Lizbeth, a girl who lived on the first floor. She made a move toward the bench.
“It’s mine,” said Briar hurriedly. She scooped up the narrow box and, hugging it to her chest, rushed into the house. Not even stopping to see who was in the parlor, she raced up the wooden staircase to the third floor.
The door to her room was closed. That either meant no one was there, or her room-mates didn’t want to be bothered. She held her ear to the door and didn’t hear anything. Opening the door, she prepared an answer to explain what she was carrying. But the room was empty. Good. She had time.
She set the package down on the mattress she shared with Ethel. Their double bed was covered in a dull patchwork quilt that Briar had brought from home. Some prints were so faded you couldn’t tell what the original color was, though Briar could remember each one from her childhood. Ethel didn’t care if their bed was fancy or not, so she welcomed the quilt. In fact, when Ethel came to town the only thing she came with was a bag full of hope.
Thinking that Ethel wouldn’t approve of the fancy spindle, Briar glanced over at Mim’s bed. Mim would approve. Her bed had a quilt with lace sewn all the way around. The lace was patchwork, constructed of pieces Mim had acquired over the years that weren’t fit for dresses but serviceable for a quilt. The lace seemed extravagant to Briar, but it was important for Mim.
A stuffed rabbit had been added to Sadie’s side of the bed, and the top of the dresser looked a bit more crowded with Mim’s relocated cosmetics.
She needed to hurry if she were to get a look at the spindle before the others returned. She quickly opened the box. It was as she remembered it. No, better. The intricately carved roses were even more delicate. The variations in the wood more pronounced. Her heart ached with how beautiful it was. It would be a shame to take it apart to put in her frame.
She hadn’t touched it when the peddler showed it to her, and she was hesitant to grasp it now. Before, she didn’t get too close because she didn’t want to become attached. Now it was hers, and it was the prettiest thing she owned. Even if the spindle didn’t work in her spinning frame, she could use it to teach Pansy. They could practice with wool from the Princes’ sheep. Mrs. Prince, with no daughter of her own, had taken a shine to Pansy and would no doubt let her have as much wool as she could handle.
“Where’d ya get that, eh?” a girl named Mary asked, pushing her way into the room. Mary was friends with Sadie, likely coming by to see her.
Briar automatically closed the lid. She was sure she had closed the door all the way. The other girls were usually good about keeping to their own rooms. There wasn’t enough privacy to go around in a boardinghouse.
Mary jumped onto the bed. “Don’t hide it, I only wanted a look.” She pawed at the box, and Briar pulled it away when Mim walked in.
“What’s going on?”
“I only wanted to see what Briar has. She never buys anything. I wanted to see what was so special.” Mary left in a huff.
Mim eyed the box. “Best go to the privy if you want absolute privacy, though you have to close the door fast on that one.” She flicked her thumb toward the door. “Besides, the bell’s about to go and Sadie’s on her way up with Ethel.” The mill bell clanged and Mim shrugged.
The halls filled with noise as all the girls made the climb up to their rooms for the night. A chase erupted over a hairbrush, and an argument from across the hall broke out over someone leaving crumbs on the shared bureau. Before anyone else came into the room, Briar stashed the spindle under her bed.
When Ethel opened the door, she eyed the two of them, her gaze shifting back and forth. “You look like you’re up to something.” Sadie followed in at her heels.
“Nothing you’d be interested in,” said Mim, taking first rotation at the wash basin to brush her teeth.
“Now that we’re all here,” said Ethel, looking pointedly at Briar, “let’s go over the rules.”
Sadie flounced onto her new bed and rolled her eyes at Briar.
Briar ignored the look and turned her attention to Ethel, like listening to her talk about the rules was the most important thing in the world.
“No one is allowed to be messy. We each take care of our own things, but common areas like the dresser tops, the water basin, and the desktop, are to be kept orderly at all times. We take turns with the wastewater, the trash, the sweeping, the dusting. No food is to be left out to rot. If any is found, we are allowed to toss it in the kitchen trash so the room doesn’t stink or attract mice.”