With no work that day, the operatives set out to find word on employment in Burlington or to enjoy a rare day of relaxation. Several took turns using the bicycle to wheel to the mill and back with reports on the progress of the firefighters.
Briar was exhausted but fought to stay awake until she heard from Henry. The latest news was that the fire was out, but still he didn’t come. She watched scores of men walk by, their faces blackened by smoke and ashes, but still no Henry.
The boys woke and wanted to play games in the parlor, so Briar propped open the front door to keep an ear out while she kept watch out on the porch. By the laughter she knew the boys were having a grand time playing Tiddledy Winks, and the mill girls were won over by their adorableness.
Jack came outside, bouncing. “Briar, they telled me I should be a candy boy and they would buy all their sweets from me.” He grinned wide. “But then Benny said I would eat it all myself, and I think he might be right. It would be hard for a fella to watch someone else eat all that candy and not take one or two for hisself.”
“You would make a fine candy boy.”
“I’ll tell Benny you said that.” And off he went, back into the parlor.
Finally, Henry came ambling down the road, soot-covered and looking more like a coal miner than a mill worker. Briar relaxed her clenched hands, relieved he was okay and she could see it for herself.
He had something wrapped up in his hand, and he wasn’t smiling.
No. The spindle couldn’t have survived. As much as Briar wanted things to stay the same, she didn’t want that. She stood and braced herself for the worst.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Briar craned her neck to see what shape the wrapped bundle was, but when Henry got closer, he hid it behind his back.
Her heart sank. Their family wasn’t free after all. She rose and went to meet him. The Prince family was able to guard the spindle for hundreds of years. They would continue to do so. And now that she knew the secret, she could help.
Henry stopped to talk with Fanny, who, after checking up on the boys, had gone down the steps ahead of Briar to join Miss Olive and Prudence who were talking across the road.
When Henry saw Briar, he smiled.
“What happened in there?” she asked, being obvious about trying to see behind his back; he being just as obvious about blocking her view.
“We managed to save all but the one building. It could have been a lot worse.” He sounded tired and not at all victorious as she’d expected.
“What’s behind your back?”
Before he could answer, Miss Olive interrupted. “You are all invited out to the country, courtesy of Miss Fanny. She says she needs the help eating all the goodies the neighbors brought to her house.” She turned to Henry, “Would you get the wagon for us, please?”
“I’ll show you later,” he whispered to Briar, mustering up a smile before jogging back down the road.
With several whoops, the girls ran inside to grab their bonnets.
“I’ll go get Ethel,” Mim said. “It’d do her some good.” She followed the others inside.
“And I’ll gather the children,” Briar said, curious about when “later” would be.
By the time everyone filed back out to the street, Henry was there with his wagon, and he’d recruited George with another wagon to fit more girls.
George offered a hand to each girl as she climbed up in the back, but when Mim walked out with Ethel, he abandoned his post and jogged up to her with a silly grin.
“This way, ladies,” he said with a wide, sweeping gesture to his wagon. In return, Mim flashed him her best smile and looped her arm through his.
Ethel and Briar exchanged a look.
“You go with Henry,” Ethel said. “I’ll take this wagon and keep an eye on them.”
Briar hopped up on the wagon beside Henry. “What about the three ladies over there?” Fanny, Miss Olive, and Prudence were having a strong discussion across the street and out of earshot of the boardinghouse.
Henry shrugged. “I think they can get back to the cottage on their own.”
Fanny looked over and met Briar’s gaze. She smiled and nodded once as if she’d heard.
Briar turned back to Henry. “You’ll have to tell me all you know about them.”
“I don’t know much, but I can guess what they are talking about now.”
“The future?”
Henry nodded. “But I have no idea what they will decide.”
“What about the mill? All these girls are out of work.”
He smiled. “I heard there was an anonymous pledge to cover the cost of rebuilding. Some wealthy German investors, I believe. It shouldn’t take too long to be up and running again. Those who can’t wait can move on if they wish. It’s not so terrible to leave the valley. It’s a beautiful world out there, too.”
The mill girls sang songs all the way, giving the ride a festive air. Briar wanted to ask Henry about the spindle, but she couldn’t press him because then the girls would wonder.
She didn’t want any more secrets between them and she didn’t think he did, either. She watched his profile as he stared out over the valley, giving it that Henry look.