Page 17 of The Heart of Bennet Hollow

William descended the train car steps at the same pulse as the engine whistle’s blasts.

He turned up his coat collar, stuffed both hands in his pockets, and crossed from his own stretch of track in the rail yard to the platform of the depot.

In the distance, the whistle pierced the afternoon again with its melancholy cry.

The four o’clock train approached right on time.

William,

It’s hard to imagine a coal town this engaging.

Do tell of its wonders.

Your Aunt Catherine grows impatient as we both await word. Write soon.

Caroline B.

William bent the missive in half. Confounded woman.

How mortifying that every stationmaster between here and home had been obligated to translate that.

Letter by blessed letter via Morse code at the cost of a man’s daily wage.

All because a wealthy heiress was bored and not keen on the local color.

William pocketed the slips of folded paper.

He’d deliver the third to his comrade, though if it was also from Miss Brydolf, he doubted its importance.

Needing to clear his head, William retreated to the edge of the platform.

Puffs of smoke billowed above the distant tree line, then with a final cry skyward, a black steam engine lumbered into view.

The engine chugged, belching smoke. A sight he saw daily, but on this sunny Monday, this train’s arrival held the power to advance his own business endeavors.

William anticipated at least three of his finest engineers and just as many miners. A small regiment of men as intelligent as they were capable. He’d already secured lodging for them in the row housing where they’d settle until the assessments were finished.

The train ground to a stop.

As steam cleared, the first man disembarked, tall and wiry and wearing a clergyman’s hat and collar. William shifted his focus past the stranger, but the minister approached. He consulted a sheet of paper and examined their surroundings.

“Excuse me, sir. Are you familiar with New River?” the minister asked.

“Only somewhat.”

“Do you know of a family by the name of Bennet? Distant relations that I’ve come to visit. I’m in need of the way.”

William sized up the gentleman from his bent hat to his shoes, which looked cinched painfully tight. The minister gripped a suitcase that had seen better days but appeared sturdy enough to hold more than a week’s worth of clothing.

William shook the man’s hand and kept his response short. “That way. Up the lane about a mile.” He tried to recall what he’d seen of the property the day he and Callum had ventured that direction with its fair inhabitants. “The farm slopes to the west. It’s hard to miss.”

“Wonderful. In truth, my lodgings are stationed here in town, but it seems polite to go there first for proper introductions.” The stranger pressed his heels together like a tin soldier.

“And are you... are you acquainted personally with the Bennets? I understand they’re quite established in the community.

We are long since connected though I’ve never journeyed here.

” The minister sized up the town that spread before them.

From a pot of flowers nearby, he plucked a single bloom and, fumbling it, finally crammed the wilting stem into the lapel of his black coat.

“I’ve been working on memorizing the names of all of the Miss Bennets, which was a rather satisfying way to pass the journey. ”

Strangely agitated, William shifted his stance.

“Only recently acquainted and I cannot account for many of their names myself.” Hopefully that would put an end to the discussion.

What was the man getting at? William didn’t like being questioned about the family that occupied his own attention more and more.

All for reasons he didn’t know how to admit.

“Hmm.” The minister seemed pleased by William’s indifference. He touched the brim of his hat. “Much obliged. I suppose I’ll go on foot.”

William nodded, still unsettled by the notion of a gentleman caller shadowing Lizbeth and Jayne’s doorstep.

William decided he wouldn’t mention it to Callum just yet.

No need to worry his friend. William forced his attention back to the passenger car where a group of men in suits disembarked.

The engineers. Their briefcases may well have been packed with degrees from Harvard, Salem, and the like.

If there was so much as a piece of timber missing in the mine, they’d spot it. William paid them handsomely in return.

Just behind the engineers came three miners, the sharpest men in his employment.

With humbler origins, they weren’t learned men.

Not in books at least. Instead they understood how to navigate tunnels in near blackness and crawl through even the narrowest passageways.

They were roughened men from birth and while William thought no less of them for it, there was one in particular he disliked seeing. A miner he’d known for far too long.

Still, he needed each man he’d summoned, so he would have to ensure this whole venture turned out well. While William meant to remain beside this crew every step of the way, he was grateful for the experts on hand.

Trying to employ the warmth Callum had taught him, William greeted each man with a handshake. “Welcome to New River. And thank you for coming. Allow me to show you to your quarters for the next few weeks.”

They all doffed their hats and thanked him but before William could take two steps, the stationmaster waved a striped arm out the window.

“Another message for you, Mr. Drake! This’un’s marked urgent .

” Though the statement itself should have filled William with intensity, the stationmaster’s expression was so lackluster that William took his time retrieving the telegram.

“Thank you.” He slid a coin across the counter for the man’s efforts. “And I apologize.”

The man pulled off his cap and ran a hand over sweat-dampened hair. “Not to worry, sir. Just doin’ my job, as I can see you are.”

William considered the message from Brydolf’s sister and crammed it in his pocket.

“So many in an hour,” the stationmaster declared. “I ain’t ever seen anythin’ like it.” He slid his cap on again.

“Nor have I.” William’s neck heated as he thanked the man again then turned back to the head engineer, ignoring Miss Brydolf’s costly message to overcome your fascination with nowheresville and hurry home to civilized living .

As they walked, William lifted his gaze to the hills where close to a hundred men and boys toiled within their depths. All carving out a life that stemmed from survival, family, and determination. Growing inside him was that same purpose and integrity. To live a life he could truly be proud of.

As they crossed in front of the depot, the lead engineer walked at his side. “We’re eager to see the insides of this mine of yours.”

William considered that statement. Would this mine truly be his? Would he soon hold the keys to the lives of this town? A notion more sobering than enticing. “As am I, my good man. As am I.”