Page 53 of A New World for the Irish Daughter

CHAPTER 28

Maggie stood in front of the pleasant wood-frame house on Fifth Street, gingham curtains at the window, flowers in pots on the sill. She’d been meaning to call on Mrs. Marks since she’d arrived in Juneau, but somehow she had not managed to find the time, or, she had to admit, the inclination. As kind as the older woman’s offer had been for her to visit, Maggie had felt too shy to do so. It was one thing to accept an invitation in the flurry of farewells after a week-long voyage; another actually to follow through and show up unannounced at the good woman’s door weeks later.

But today she had no choice. She’d woken that morning with the little Tlingit girl still asleep in her arms, only to have her startle awake when Maggie had stirred, and then scoot to the end of the bed, gazing at Maggie with that wide-eyed watchfulness that just about broke her heart.

Downstairs, Mrs. Compton had reiterated her one-night policy, making it clear the girl would be gone that morning. And at the hospital, Maggie had seen no change in the mother’s condition—she’d been sleeping fitfully, still in a fever—while the girl had once more taken up residence under her bed.

Maggie hadn’t known what to do.

Sister Mary Zeno hadn’t budged in her refusal to bring the girl into the mission, although she’d remained sympathetic. “Five years from now, God willing, we will have a bigger hospital, a school with boarding facilities. But as for now…” She’d given Maggie a look full of both sympathy and resolution. “She belongs in her village.”

Maggie had been loath to return the girl to a place where she was so clearly unwanted, but what else could she do with her? Who did she know in this city that could help?

And that had led her to the door of Mrs. Marks. Resolutely, Maggie knocked once and then stepped back, steeling herself for whatever came next.

Mrs. Marks opened the door herself, and her wide, homely face creased into a smile when she caught sight of Maggie. “Well, if it isn’t Miss O’Halloran from theQueen! I’ve been wondering how you’ve fared these last few months. Thought I might see you about town.”

“I’ve been very well, thank you?—”

“Come in, come in.” Mrs. Marks gestured for her to enter. “I’ll make coffee. I want to hear all your news.”

The Marks home was pleasant, the plain wood walls and floor decorated with rag rugs and pictures to make it welcoming. What passed for a well-to-do home in Juneau, Maggie reflected wryly, was a far cry from what did in any of the other places she’d lived, but she decided she preferred the comfortable homeliness of the Marks’ home compared to the grander houses she’d been in.

She followed Mrs. Marks into the sitting room, furnished with a horsehair sofa and a couple of armchairs, and then sat down to wait while her hostess made coffee and brought it through on a tin tray.

“Now, tell me how you’ve been getting on,” she invited as she poured them both coffee, loaded liberally with canned milk andsugar, and then settled down in a floral-patterned armchair with her own cup. “You certainly look smart.”

Maggie glanced down at the white apron and plain dress of navy muslin she’d bought at a dry goods store for her nursing work. “Thank you,” she murmured, taking a sip of her own coffee. “I’ve been working up at St. Ann’s Hospital, as a nurse.”

“Well, isn’t that fine!” Mrs. Marks exclaimed. “No wonder you look so nicely turned out. Those nuns do a good job up there, I’ve always said.”

“Yes…” Maggie hesitated. “They’re very kind,” she started, and then fell silent, unsure how to continue.

Mrs. Marks gave her a frank look, full of humor. “You’ve clearly come here to say something,” she remarked on a laugh. “After two months and all, to boot! You might as well come out and say it.”

Maggie grimaced good-naturedly. “I meant to come sooner?—”

“Oh, I know how it is,” Mrs. Marks assured her. “Time flies, and I’m sure those nuns keep you busy! You’ve found a place to stay?”

“Yes, Mrs. Compton’s boarding house on Front Street.”

“That old barn,” Mrs. Marks scoffed. “You want to move on to somewhere more decent, if you can. She charges an arm and a leg for one of those poky rooms, with walls like tissue paper! You can get a decent cabin for the same price and live with your father and brother, you know. It wouldn’t cost much at all. One thing that’s cheap here,” she added on a laugh, “is housing. Everything else is through the roof! A dollar for one measly apple, my eye.”

“I didn’t realize…” Maggie hadn’t even considered the matter before.

Although the conditions at Mrs. Compton’s were less than perfectly agreeable, they had sufficed for now, but the thoughtof more space and privacy was certainly welcome, and now that she, Danny and her da were all earning, they should be able to afford it, surely? To have their own house, instead of a crowded room! After years of boarding in various places, it felt like an unimaginable luxury.

“We shall have to look into it,” she told her hostess. “But the truth is, I’ve come here because I have something of a… a problem.”

Mrs. Marks’ eyebrows rose, more in curiosity than in concern. “A problem?”

Quickly, Maggie explained the situation. Mrs. Marks’ brows knit together as she listened, and her inquiring smile slowly turned into a frown, but at least, Maggie told herself, she didn’t cut her off or make some disparaging remark about “the natives.”

“So I was wondering if you might know of a place where she could stay, just until her mother recovers?” she finished. “It would only be for a night or two.”

Mrs. Marks’ frown had turned thoughtful as she took a sip of her coffee. “Well, I declare,” she said at last. “You’ve taken an Indian girl into that boarding house? That must have caused a pretty how-do-you-do!” She laughed merrily, and Maggie smiled, relieved that Mrs. Marks did not seem disapproving.

“It did…” she admitted.