Spindle

Briar held her breath, hoping. Praying. She should have thought of it sooner. Nanny always seemed to be acting out of duty, and now Briar understood why. But Fanny? She was acting out of love. Briar was certain of it.

Fanny was quiet. Finally, she said, “I don’t make the decisions. This was the first time I’ve been allowed to live with people since, well, since Aurora. I’m not very good about hiding who I am. They like me to stay tucked away.”

“Would we have to convince Prudence? It would be perfect…unless you don’t want to?”

“How were your spindles this week?” asked Fanny, changing the subject.

By now, Briar knew not to push Fanny, but at least a seed was planted. “Great! I’m running more frames than ever before. Maybe we won’t have to take out the spindle.”

Fanny shot her a look of warning. “Don’t let your guard down. I’m still working on how to remove it. You can’t keep it.”

“All the operatives are staying at their own frames. You might be worried for nothing.”

“But girls are still getting sick?”

“A few. But I think it must be the polio after all.”

Fanny pursed her lips. “Describe their symptoms again.”

“They complain of different things: headache, fever, double vision, aching and weak muscles in their legs.”

“I don’t know. It’s suspicious that at your mill it’s only the girls on the spinning floor.”

“Yes, but they’re not falling asleep.”

“We watch and wait, then.” Fanny went around the dying petals scattered at the threshold and began to rejuvenate them. “And as a precaution, let’s send you back with some old remedies for your sick friends.” She picked up one of the briar rose petals and rubbed it between her two fingers. “The tinctures won’t hurt anyone, but if the spindle is the cause, they will help heal.”





Chapter Thirty-Three



Fanny and Mrs. Prince teamed up to put together a basket of home remedies for Briar to bring to those who had fallen ill.

“This one is a special liniment made with Solomon’s Seal to rub into their feet and legs,” Fanny said, holding up a jar. “The root does wonders for lungs and bruises and sore limbs. And give them this rose hip tea to start working on their insides.”

The mention of Solomon’s Seal reminded Briar of Henry. No one had gotten word from him since that first round of letters. She hoped he was okay. There had been no reports of shipwreck, so if he was on that boat then he’d made it across. But that was no guarantee he’d made it all the way to Germany.

“Do you know George at the mill?” Mrs. Prince asked.

Briar nodded, thinking back to the night they played Crossed and Uncrossed in the parlor. “We’ve met.”

“Send him back with a message if more girls fall ill and you need additional supplies. He’s been filling in for Henry, running errands for us. He’ll let us know and we’ll bring more remedies. It’s no trouble at all.”

“Do you think more will get sick?” asked Briar. She’d never lived through an epidemic but had heard plenty of stories from the elders in the community. Mention the words potato blight and you’d hear all you ever wanted to about starvation and typhoid and death, and even a few other random illnesses thrown in for good measure.

The two women passed a look between them. “Just let us know,” said Mrs. Prince.

After squeezing the children tight—the boys wiggling away too soon for her liking—Briar raced back to town on her bicycle, driven by the worried looks of the valley folk. They might not welcome her back if the illness was spreading for fear of catching it themselves.

When Briar made it back to the boardinghouse, she parked the bicycle in the shed and, taking the basket, found Miss Olive. She was in the kitchen, putting the final touches on the evening meal.

“Briar. Welcome home. You’ll be glad to know Sadie is stabilized and will be able to travel home to her parents by the end of the week. Isn’t that good news?” Miss Olive washed her hands then dried them on the towel she had slung over her shoulder.

“Yes, very much so.” Briar set her basket on the counter.

“The company plans to replace her immediately and we need her bed. Two more girls came down with the illness while you were gone.”

“Oh, no. Now who?”

“Two more from your floor. The operatives don’t want to come in to work, and the agent is concerned.”

“We all are, but what’s to be done?”

“Tomorrow the spinning room is getting a good scrubbing.” Miss Olive noticed the basket. “What have you got there?”

Briar pointed out the jars. “Remedies from Mrs. Prince and Fanny. They said to—”

“Briar rose tea and liniment?” Miss Olive hurried to unpack the basket.

“Among other items, yes.”

Miss Olive scratched her head. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself. Must be getting too old for this.” She picked out one of the jars. “I’ll get started on that tea now. The girls should have a restful night with this in them. Thank you, Briar.” She cleared her throat. “Did Fanny send a message for me?” Her tone was light, sing-songy almost.

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