Miss Olivia did not speak, but her brow knotted, as if the dark memory was not far away. “You be very careful, Johnny,” she said. “We will pray for you.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Johnny said.

“If I had my way,” Sadie said, “I would follow my two brothers into the army and maybe find me a job driving trucks. Heck, I’d be willing to work in a mess hall peeling potatoes if it meant I could go.”

Johnny shot her a glance that told her to stay silent. “My sister will be staying put in Bluestone.”

“Sadie, can you really drive?” Dr. Carter asked.

“Yes, sir,” she said with pride. “Been driving since I was twelve.”

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Almost sixteen.” She was five months from her sixteenth birthday but close enough.

“Is she a safe driver, Johnny?” Dr. Carter asked.

Her brother did not spare her a glance. “Yes, sir. She knows the roads in the county as well as I do.”

“Hey there, I have an idea,” Dr. Carter said. “Olivia is going to be on her own much of the days while I work in my office. I often have long hours, and I know she is going to need help getting around. Perhaps your Sadie could assist us, Johnny.”

Sadie straightened her back, trying to look a little taller. Her own smile felt as tense as Miss Olivia’s hoity-toity face looked.

“She’s been driving a good three years,” Johnny said. “No one knows these roads better other than my brother and me.”

“You still drive that jalopy of a truck?” Dr. Carter asked.

“Yes, sir,” Johnny said. “It runs well enough. Never left me on the side of the road, and I’ll be leaving it behind with Sadie.”

“I can’t have Sadie driving Olivia around in your truck,” Dr. Carter said. “No offense, Johnny, but it’s too rough for her.”

“Perhaps not the vehicle for a lady,” Johnny said.

“I can drive any kind of car,” Sadie said. “Give me a minute or two to figure it out, and I’ll have the wheels rolling.”

Miss Olivia laid her hand on her husband’s forearm. “I don’t want to impose on Sadie.”

“It won’t be an imposition if I’m paying her,” Dr. Carter said. “And we both know you can’t drive yourself. Without Sadie, your trips into town will be limited to my rare visits.”

Sadie knew the cost of ingredients for mash and how much the final product was worth, but she had no idea what the pay for driving would be. “How much would you be willing to pay?”

Dr. Carter smiled at her as if she were a young child. “How does a dollar a day sound?”

Johnny nodded and, before she could toss out a reply, said, “That sounds fair. When would you like her to start?”

“The first of February?” Dr. Carter said.

“That sounds just fine, sir,” Johnny said.

“Sadie, can you find your way back up here?” Dr. Carter asked.

“Of course,” she said, doing her best not to laugh.

The money Sadie could earn as a driver would go to her mother, but she figured she could shave off a nickel or two and add it to her savings stashed under the floorboards of her room.

Miss Olivia’s grip on her husband’s arm was barely perceptible but Sadie saw it. It felt like a subtle slight, and that annoyed her. She never cared what rich folks thought about her, but having this woman look down her nose at her stung.

“That’s okay,” Sadie said. “If Miss Olivia’s afraid, it’s best not to push her.” She tried to sound as sweet as she could, but when Johnny shifted his stance and tossed her a sideways glance, she knew he had seen right through her.

Malcolm’s lips twitched with a small smile, and Dr. Carter was nodding as if he agreed with Sadie. “I say, Olivia, I think Miss Sadie has thrown down the gauntlet.” Dr. Carter glanced over at his wife. “Darling, if this arrangement doesn’t suit, then of course, you don’t have to accept.”

Miss Olivia’s red bow lips pursed. There was a flash of challenge in her blue eyes as she stared at Sadie, suggesting she was not as cotton candy soft as she first seemed. She had more going for her than just a pretty face.

“On the contrary,” Miss Olivia said, “I’m not the least bit concerned. I simply did not want to trouble the young lady.”

“I doubt Sadie would be bothered by a job,” Dr. Carter said. “The Thompson clan is known for being hardworking.”

“In that case, I would be more than grateful if Sadie is available to drive me.” Miss Olivia still did not extend her hand, but that might have been the way in England.

Sadie was already wondering how fast a dollar a day would add up. Hell, she might earn enough to buy herself a magazine or, better yet, a nice dress.

CHAPTER NINE

MARGARET

Monday, June 8, 2020

Outside of Bluestone

As Margaret drove off, she waved to Elaine, who was standing on Woodmont’s porch, a thick shawl wrapped around her thinning shoulders. The evening air was not cool enough for a shawl, and Margaret worried that Elaine was again feeling poorly.

The dinner had gone as well as could be expected, though Margaret found it awkward to have Libby seated at the table. Everyone was on their best behavior, and the boys’ antics had actually helped ease the tension and worry Elaine was carrying.

She drove down the long driveway and then made a left at the road. Seven miles down the road, she turned into the much-shorter driveway of her home. It was a white clapboard house with a front porch big enough for a couple of rockers. The yard was neatly cut, and the azaleas planted by Colton and the boys always made her smile.

Her knees ached as she stepped out of the car. Carefully, she rolled her head from side to side before she crossed the lawn.

Her grandmother had raised her in this house, and after GeeMom had passed, Margaret had stayed on here. Miss Olivia had hired her when she had turned eighteen, so there had always been money to be earned. She had been thirty-one when she had married Woodmont’s new gardener. He had moved in with her, and together they had raised Ginger and Colton here.

Ginger had tried to get Margaret to move to Charlottesville and into a one-level house close to her, but the city was too bustling for her taste and too far for a twenty-five-mile daily commute to Woodmont. She did not know what she would do if she could not see her boys every day.

This old house was barely twelve hundred square feet and had only three tiny bedrooms. Over the years, there must have been several coats of off-white paint added to the walls, but in the evening light, it looked faded and a little tired. She had been meaning to change the color to something brighter. Yellow, maybe. She had told herself there was too much work at Woodmont, and now that Elaine was getting over her sickness, taking time to change a paint color seemed silly.

She walked over to the dining room table, piled high with magazines and china she had still not put away from her own Easter supper with Colton, Ginger, and the boys.

After flipping on the lights in the kitchen, she walked past an unfinished one-thousand-piece puzzle she had been working on for five years. She crossed the small room to the electric teakettle that Elaine had given her last Christmas and filled it with water. A push of the button, and it was heating.