Orphan Train Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 4 Read online

  Walter and his brothers spotted the lady, and they ran yelling toward her. Their noisy approach upset the horse, and he began to rear. Charles felt his heart lodge in his throat as he took off after the boys, intending to avert disaster.

  Miss Morley must have foreseen the trouble. She slid gracefully out of the saddle and had the horse under control before any harm was done, but Charles could not control the rage that rose in him and caused him to lash out at everyone before him.

  “How could you be so foolish as to ride this wild animal where there would be children in harm’s way?” he demanded of her, his harsh tone ringing louder than usual. “And you boys should never run toward a horse like that! Have you any idea how much damage a large animal like this could do to you?”

  All four faces were staring at him with almost identically rounded eyes, shock and dismay displayed equally on each face. Some of the farm hands approached to see what the ruckus was about. Embarrassment piled onto his fright and Charles glared at everyone in equal measure. He couldn’t help notice that the young woman was continuing to pat the horse soothingly to prevent him from shying away from his own loud anger.

  Feeling his face flush now with embarrassment rather than anger, Charles could not look the young woman in the face. But he felt obligated to apologize to the children. Crouching down on one knee to better reach their level, he put out a beseeching hand. Walter, always the more demonstrative of the three, leaned into him despite the perplexed expression on his face.

  “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled like that. I was doing the exact thing that I was yelling at you for doing. It was not well done of me, and I will try not to let it happen again.” He could see that his apology was going a long way to soothing their feelings, but he still had to explain himself. “You have to be careful around any large animal. That horse has not been well trained, but even a well trained horse can be dangerous if it is frightened. He couldn’t be sure if you were friendly or not, and the three of you running toward him could have felt like an attack.”

  “But we were just so excited to see Miss Cassie,” Walter pointed out.

  “I know, and no doubt she’s happy to see you, but you still have to be careful.”

  The three hung their heads as though they were ashamed of themselves even if they didn’t really know what he was talking about. He couldn’t bear to think that he had crushed their exuberance and tried to recover from his blunder. “But now you’ll know for next time, and there’s really no harm done. Nobody got hurt, and Miss Cassie has the beast under control.”

  He finally made himself look over to where she had taken her mount. Charles was surprised to see that the huge horse appeared docile enough as he drank from the trough and stood beside her quite calmly. Miss Cassie, on the other hand, looked far from calm if you looked her in the eye, but she was doing her best to hide that fact from the children and the horse. She tied the horse’s reins in a shady spot and approached the children.

  “Now that Hector is under control, I will be very happy to receive the hugs you have ready for me,” she told them with a genuine smile on her face. He realized when her focus wasn’t on him, she was able to completely hide her displeasure. It was obvious she truly cared about the boys. He tried to amend his first impression of her, but he couldn’t manage it. Despite her skill on horseback and her affection for the children, she was a rich, spoiled woman from the city, and she had no business being in Missouri. Knowing who her father was did nothing toward improving his opinion of her. If anything, it made it all the harder for him to tolerate her presence. But despite that, he couldn’t help but feel a warm flutter in his midsection whenever he looked at her.

  Charles valiantly ignored his feelings of attraction towards the beautiful young Miss Cassie. Despite her appeal, he refused to accept that it was more than skin deep. He would not allow the children’s attachment to her to sway his own opinion.

  “Where did you get such a huge horse?”

  “I didn’t know you knew how to ride.”

  “Did you change your mind and come to stay with us?”

  The boys pelted her with questions. Her laughter made his gut clench in a pleasurable fashion, but the last question made his stomach plummet uncomfortably.

  He watched as she crouched beside Walter, obviously the one who asked the last question. Cassie kneeled down, seemingly heedless of the dirt to her skirts. It surprised him, but he supposed she could afford to be heedless of her clothes. Since her father was a wealthy cit, he would no doubt just buy her new gowns when she returned home.

  But one could not argue that she did not have affection for the boys. Even he was not so cynical as to suppose that her attention to them was feigned. He could not force his gaze away as she drew the small boy into her arms to comfort him.

  “No, my dear boy, I am not here to stay. I am here to see where you live. You must show me all the best things about your new home.”

  Ross and Anton were eager to tell her all about the place.

  “And there are ten horses and more cows than we can count and Mr. Charles says we are to each have our own room when we are ready and we’re going to go to school just like you said we should.”

  ~~~

  Cassie couldn’t prevent a trill of laughter from escaping her despite the glowering stare of Mr. Charles watching her, like a hawk awaiting its next morsel. The boys really were so dear when they filled her ears with their tales. She tightened her grip on little Wally before releasing him and regaining her feet.

  “Now you must show me everything before I have to head back to town. We mustn’t tarry, as I do not want to be caught out after dark.”

  Her words prompted the boys to action. Ross and Walter each grabbed one of her hands, and Anton lead the way. Cassie was uncomfortably conscious of Mr. Ainsworth bringing up the rear without uttering a word.

  “Isn’t it amazing how much space there is around here, Miss Cassie?” Anton asked her.

  “What do you like about that, Tony?” Cassie had wondered if the city dwelling children would be able to adjust to the isolation of Missouri.

  “We can’t hear the neighbors or smell what they’re having to eat. There are birds out here, Miss Cassie.”

  Ross interrupted with excitement. “And the birds make the prettiest sounds.”

  “And we saw baby cats, Miss Cassie. Mr. Charles says they’re called kittens. He said we can hold them when they get a little bit bigger, but the mama cat won’t like it if we touch them now.”

  They were talking over each other in their eagerness, and Cassie had to bite her lip to prevent tears from forming in her eyes. The poor dears had missed some of the simplest pleasures in life due to their life of poverty. She had known this was a good move for them, but she was even more convinced than ever. Despite how dour Mr. Ainsworth was, she could not suppress the smile of appreciation she cast over her shoulder toward him. The sour man just glowered back at her. She returned her attention to the boys and determined to ignore their new guardian.

  “We will be very careful not to disturb the mama, but I would dearly love getting a glimpse of the baby cats, or yes, you are quite correct Walter, kittens. And yes, Tony, I do agree with you, all the birds are lovely, but I cannot decide if I prefer the blue ones or the yellow ones. Which are your favorite?”

  “The blue ones, Miss. Although I can see why you would like the yellow ones.”

  “Are they not the most cheerful color?” she asked.

  “They are, but I think the blue ones sound nicer.”

  They shared a grin.

  “You will have to see if you can tame them so that they will come and sit on your finger.”

  That got all three boys’ attention. “Is that even possible?” Ross asked, his eyes wide with eagerness.

  She had to shrug. “I would imagine with enough patience and perhaps a bit of bribery with bread crumbs, it would be possible.”

  Walter and Ross laughed. “We would never have enough patience to
sit around and wait for a bird to land on us.”

  Cassie laughed with them. “No, but Tony might.” The boy’s eyes lit up at her assessment.

  They reached the barn where the cat had nested with her babies.

  “Mr. Charles said we have to be very quiet.” Wally’s whisper was the loudest she had ever heard, but Cassie managed not to giggle as they tiptoed through the large building, past the empty stalls to the last one, where it was dark, warm, and quiet. A mound of hay was piled up in front of the stall door, all the better for the youngsters to be able to peer over its edge. Cassie found she could not detest the dour man, who had still not said anything. If he was so thoughtful toward her boys, she would not judge him for seeming so stern. It was obvious he must have a kind heart despite his severe exterior. Or perhaps he did not like women. She chose to ignore his gruffness and think well of him. All thoughts of the grouchy man were pushed to the back of her mind as she joined the children in their delighted examination of the mother cat with her babies.

  The boys couldn’t stand still watching for very long. When she realized they were beginning to fidget and would soon make the cat anxious, she drew them away with a tap on their shoulders and a beckoning gesture.

  “There are too many other things to see before I leave,” she reminded them when they were a little away from the last stall.

  “You’ll come back again, though, right, Miss Cassie?” Walter worried.

  “Of course, my dear. You will soon grow weary of my visits.”

  “Never,” he declared with determined loyalty.

  Cassie laughed, taking his hand again and following Tony and Ross as they continued their tour of the property.

  “We haven’t seen everything yet. Mr. Charles says we have to learn to ride before he can show us all over the place.”

  “Oh, have I interrupted your opportunity for riding lessons?” she asked with dismay. “But I would love to watch. Do not, I pray you, allow my presence to prevent you.” She turned toward Ainsworth as she spoke.

  “But you still haven’t been in to see the boys’ rooms.” Ainsworth finally spoke. Cassie wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to give the boys’ their lesson while she was there or if he was trying to prevent the necessity of her returning. She ignored either possibility.

  “That can wait until next time, I’m sure. Perhaps I could be of assistance with the riding lessons so that the boys needn’t take turns. They could learn all the faster that way.”

  She had thought she was being reasonable, but he merely looked annoyed. She ignored his reaction and turned back to the boys.

  “You are going to love riding! It is the best feeling.”

  “But are you not afraid being so far off the ground?” Walter asked, his nerves evident.

  “Not if your saddle has been adjusted properly and you have firm control of your mount. And I am most certain that Mr. Ainsworth will be very careful in his selection of which horses he shares with you. You can be sure they will be gentle and dependable. There will be nothing to fear.”

  “I’m not afraid,” Tony boasted while Ross chimed in. “Me neither.”

  Walter looked up at her with pleading eyes. Cassie squeezed his hand reassuringly but said nothing else. It was a skill the boy would require living out here on such a large property and so far from town. He could only walk so far on his little legs. She was delighted she would be there to share the treat of helping her young friends learn.

  An hour or two later, she had lost all track of time, she was exhausted from all the laughter she and the boys had shared. Mr. Ainsworth had barely thawed toward her and so had not shared in most of their laughter, but Cassie was relieved to see that he was not so stern with the boys despite the scowl that creased his face continually.

  Despite the fact that the boys had barely even seen horses in their young lives, Cassie was heartened to see they had an aptitude for riding and it would soon seem as though they had been born in the saddle. Even Walter was beginning to enjoy the activity, she was relieved to see. Glancing at the location of the sun, she bit back a gasp of alarm.

  “Oh dear, I really must be off or I will lose myself in the dark on the way back to town. I had no intention of staying this long.”

  There was a chorus of protests from the boys, but she hugged them all in a hurry and promised to return as soon as she could manage. She hadn’t felt particularly welcomed by their new guardian so she didn’t want to promise to return the very next day. She would have to give the matter a little more thought before she braved his presence again.

  She was gazing at the stirrup in dismay, wondering if there was a mounting block handy when Ainsworth actually laughed. The sound startled her into glancing in his direction for the first time in at least an hour. She had been ignoring him as steadfastly as she could manage. The man discomfited her. But when he laughed she felt a flutter in the region she was pretty sure housed her heart, which made her frown. He really was distractingly handsome even when he scowled. But when he smiled, his appeal was almost overwhelming. She couldn’t help smiling in return.

  Without saying a word, he cupped his hands, silently offering to hoist her up onto her horse. She was uncomfortable placing herself so close to him, but admonished herself not to be a ninny. There was very little other choice, and she really needed to be on her way. Taking a deep breath, she drew close to him, placed one foot in his hands and clambered up onto the horse with as much grace and dignity as she could muster, quickly settling her skirts and hoping she did not appear anywhere near as flustered as she felt.

  “It really was much easier to give them their first riding lesson with you here. Maybe you could come back tomorrow and we could try again.” His low voice sent a shiver up her spine, while his words nearly robbed her of speech.

  The stern man was inviting her back? Wonders would never cease it would seem. She hoped her face was not flaming as she felt a myriad of feelings assailing her.

  Without answering him, she called out to the boys a goodbye and wheeled her horse around. “I really must be off. Farewell,” she said as she goaded her horse into a trot. She left the yard in a small cloud of dust. She realized that was probably quite rude of her. She wasn’t used to the dirt like there was around here; in the city everything was cobbled or at least oiled. But as her horse progressed to a cantor and then a gallop, she allowed the wind whipping by her to blow away her concerns, at least for a few minutes.

  Chapter Six

  W hen she pried her eyes open the next morning, Cassie was dismayed to see she had again slept later than she had planned. She was being far more active than she was used to, and it was making her need more sleep. She hurried to ready herself and set out for more visits with the children. She intended to return to Ainsworth’s property to see Walter and his brothers after she made stops with some of the other children who had been placed. While the three brothers held a bigger piece of her heart, she felt compelled to check on all of them before she returned home to New York.

  The prospect of getting back on the train held no appeal for her at the moment, so she shoved the thought away and concentrated on the instructions the smithy was giving her on how to arrive at her first destination. He gave her a vague warning about being careful out on her own, but since all the places she was going were reasonably close to town, she chose to ignore him. He made her slightly uncomfortable. She couldn’t decide if the smithy was being helpful or suggestive.

  She crisscrossed the remote scenery, vaguely admiring the rugged beauty, but her attention was focused on ensuring she didn’t get lost, while her thoughts were occupied with the children she left behind at each stop and the ones she would see at the next. More and more convinced that she could no longer volunteer with orphans, Cassie wondered what she was going to do with her life after this venture was concluded.

  With a sigh of relief, she saw Mr. Ainsworth’s house come into view. She had saved the best for last, she thought with a frisson of misgiving as she remembered the co
ld reception she had received from Ainsworth the day before. She shoved that thought from her mind as she concentrated on her joy at seeing her favorite boys again.

  Cassie was dismayed at how quiet the property seemed when she approached the house. She wasn’t really surprised by the depth of her disappointment. She knew she would have to leave Missouri sooner rather than later and wanted to spend as much time as possible with her favorite trio before she returned to New York.

  She had never realized she would get so attached to the children when she had signed up to volunteer at the orphanage. She didn’t know how she was going to live without them when she left, but she knew for a fact that she couldn’t handle going back to the orphanage. Her heart couldn’t take the losses.

  Feeling melancholy, she sat atop her rented horse, gazing about at the beautiful prospect, reflecting how different it was from the city, when she was startled by an exuberant shout from behind her. Within minutes, she was off her mount and surrounded by the three youngsters who were again all talking over each other, each wanting to tell her everything that had happened since the previous afternoon.

  “Mr. Charles has arranged for us to have all the clothes we could possibly need.”

  “We’re going to start going to school in a couple days.”

  “He says if we don’t start soon we’ll be too far behind.”

  “There was so much food, Miss Cassie, we couldn’t even finish it all.”

  Cassie had to laugh. This last statement was said with such reverence, and then all three boys grew silent as though this was too overwhelming to even contemplate. It wasn’t really a laughing matter that the poor boys had experienced hunger, but the alternative was to cry and they wouldn’t have appreciated that.

  “It certainly sounds like you are being well provided for,” she observed as she made herself meet Mr. Ainsworth’s gaze. “Thank you for that, sir.”