AND JILL CAME TUMBLING AFTER

The little girl had hair as black as midnight and wore a dress of golden yellow. From his vantage point on the bench in front of the general store, Ben watched her as she stood at the edge of the road, dragging her pretty little boots through the dirt, her long curls falling in front of her face. She seemed to feel his eyes on her and lifted her head to meet his gaze.
"Hello," she said cautiously.
"Hello," replied Ben. "What's your name?"
"Maddy. What's yours?"
"Ben. How old are you?"
"Five. How old are you?"
"Six." Ben felt important now. He was a whole year older.

These childish formalities dispensed with, Ben looked at the little girl and fired his next question. "Why do you talk funny?"
Maddy narrowed dark blue eyes. "*I* don't talk funny," she retorted, "*you* talk funny."
"Do not."
"Do, too."
"Everyone talks like me. I've never heard anyone talk like *you*, and I know hundreds of people," he said grandly.
"My mummy talks just like me," protested Maddy, "and my gran does, and my granddad. My daddy did, too," her voice fell to a whisper, "but he's dead now."
Ben was immediately sympathetic. He couldn't imagine life without his pa. "Gosh, I'm sorry. You mean you've only got a mama? Is she a nice mama?"
Maddy stood taller, looking proud. "She's the best mummy in the whole wide world."
"She is not." Ben was indignant. "*My* mama is the best mama in the world."
"She is not!"
Ben decided to be gracious, "Well," he said, "maybe you *think* your mama's the best mama in the world, but that's because you haven't met *my* mama."
"No, no, no." Maddy shook her head. "My mummy is the nicest, best, prettiest mummy in the world. My daddy always told her so."
Ben's hackles rose again. "Well, *my* pa always tells *my* mama she's the nicest, best, prettiest mama in the world."
They paused and reflected. Then Ben said slowly, "Is that somethin' all papas tell all mamas?"

Just then, a woman swept out of the store, her skirts brushing the dusty sidewalk. "Maddy, darling," she called out in a voice just like Maddy's.
"Mummy's done. Let's get going."
Ben gaped at her; she was small and frail-looking with porcelain skin, and she sure was pretty. At least as pretty as his mama. He watched as Maddy eagerly took her mother's slim, white hand and smiled at him. "Mummy, this is my friend, Ben."

The woman smiled indulgently at Ben, and then her eyes widened. They were the same dark blue as Maddy's. "It's lovely to meet you, Ben. Lord but you're the exact image of your father."
Ben swelled up with pleasure. "That's what everyone says. Do you know my pa?"
"Very well, indeed. As a matter of fact, we're on our way to see him right now. Would you care to escort us?"
"You're comin' to see my pa?"
"Actually," the pretty woman was grinning, "we've come to see all of you: your mum, your dad, your brother, your sister, your uncle Teaspoon, your aunt Rachel --"
"My uncle Buck and my aunt May, too?" Ben was getting excited now. "And you can see my uncle Cody! He's leavin' in a month, but you'll get to see him before he goes!"
The woman's smile faded. "And your uncle Jimmy? Is he here, too?"
"I think he's stayin' with Miss Davis again this week, helpin' her repair her porch. He's always over at Miss Davis's house. She's a real nice lady. He likes her a lot." Ben didn't notice the woman flinch slightly in response to his words. "You got horses for us to ride?"
"Um," Maddy's mother cleared her throat, giving herself a moment to recover, "actually, I've asked Mr Thompkins's assistant Henry to drive us in."
Henry helped Maddy's mother aboard the dilapidated old clapboard wagon, and then hoisted both Ben and Maddy in after her. The two children regarded one another with great satisfaction. Despite the initial spats, they had made up their minds that they liked each other. Ben laughed as Maddy jostled along
in the wagon, unstable, the yellow bow on top of her head bouncing up and down against her dark hair.
It was a ten-minute ride out of Sweetwater to the ranch that Ben's parents owned. He and Maddy used this time to get acquainted, and by the time Henry had maneuvered the wagon through the gate and up to the porch, Ben knew that Maddy was from England, that her daddy had died last winter after being sick
for a long time, and that her mother had immediately bought them tickets to America the following spring, which was how they had ended up in town today.

He knew that Maddy had an imaginary friend named Nick, and he told her of his brother and sister, the torments of his life. No sooner had Henry stopped the wagon than Maddy's mother jumped down, heedless of her fancy shoes and dress. She landed on the ground with an eager smile broad on her face, picked up her skirts, and ran -- she actually ran, Henry noted -- up the porch steps and into the house. Ben and Maddy followed curiously, hand in hand, and found Maddy's mother and Ben's mother in the kitchen, staring at each other with amazed eyes. Ben's mother was in the opposite corner from Maddy's.

"Jack?!" she exclaimed after a moment.
Maddy's mother nodded. "I'm back, Lou."
Without another word, the two women met in an embrace. The children were shocked to see that their mothers were crying. Maddy remembered her mother's tears after her father's death and was frightened, but she soon realized that her mother was smiling through her tears. She was happy. When Lou and Jack had released one another, they stepped back and surveyed each other with smiles. "Lou, you look beautiful."

"*Me*? I'm in an old apron, covered in flour from head to toe, every hair out of place!" Lou's eyes were twinkling. "You're the one standing there in a Paris gown and the prettiest hairdo I've ever seen! You're just lovely, Jack."
"Oh, rubbish! The gown's a hand-me-down from an old friend in London and my hair's just twisted back, and I've been traveling for months, and I *swear*, Lou, I am never, ever setting foot on another boat as long as I live!" The two friends laughed. "Here I am, and here I shall remain."
Lou reached out and hugged Jack again. "Oh, Jack, I'm *so* glad. I am so, so glad! That you're here, that you'll stay --" Lou broke off and noticed Maddy standing with Ben in the doorframe. Her face lit up. "Is this little Maddy? Hello, darlin'."

Maddy had instantly taken to this woman. She beamed up at her with a dimpled smile and held out her arms for the hug she knew Lou was inviting.
"Madeline Louise, say hello to your aunt Lou."
Maddy was gathered into Lou's arms and lifted off the floor. She returned Lou's hug with energy. "You're my aunt Lou-Lou? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the presents, Aunt Lou-Lou!"
Lou laughed at the little girl's enthusiasm. "You're welcome, sweetheart. It's worth it just to see you at last." She set Maddy back on the ground. "And I see you've met my biggest little man."
"Yes, I have, and he was a wonderful escort." Jack dipped in a curtsy and Ben flushed with pride. "Thank you kindly, Ben."
"Benjamin, honey, this is your aunt Jack."
Ben echoed Maddy's surprised tone, "You're my aunt Jackie?" He threw his arms around her waist. "I've waited my whole life to meet you! Mama and Pa talk about you all the time!"
Lou grinned. "Run into town, Ben, and get your father. Don't tell him who's here, all right? Can I trust you?" Ben nodded. "And fetch your brother and sister from Aunt Rachel's on the way back."
"Can I go?" spoke up Maddy. "Can I, Mummy, can I? Can I, Mummy?"
"Ben takes that walk every day. She'll be perfectly safe with him," Lou assured Jack.
"As if I'd be worried about *that*," Jack scoffed.
"Then I can go, Mummy?"
"Yes. But stick with Ben, do you hear? Don't get separated from him."
She and Lou watched as Maddy and Ben left, once again hand in hand. Lou said, "Get yourself a chair and sit down. Let's talk! It's been too long, Jack!"

Jack sat, relieved to at last be able to relax. Lou busied herself for a moment pouring them each a mug of coffee, and then she too sat down, and they looked at each other expectantly.
"Tell me," Lou urged gently. "Tell me about Magnus."
Jack traced the rim of the mug with her finger. She exhaled slowly. "I wondered if you'd gotten my letter. I left so quickly, I didn't even wait for a response from you."
"It was just an invitation to bring Maddy here and stay with Kid and me for a while," Lou smiled. "Nothin' you shouldn't have already expected."
Jack sighed. "He was sick for ages. Scarlet fever. I'm sure he picked it up from one of the slum districts. Once he earned his degree he opened a clinic in one of the worst sections of London, and a lot of times he'd go to the people before the people came to him. I always admired him for it, even as I feared for his life. It wasn't the people I was afraid of -- I knew they worshipped him; they wouldn't have harmed a hair on his head. No, it was the diseases I was afraid of. He laughed at me for being afraid. He'd say, 'No
worries, love. I'm strong as an ox.'" Jack laughed sadly. "Well, physician heal thyself. He came home sick one evening, and by the next morning he had a horrible fever. He was sick for four months. Even after the fever had gone, he deteriorated. Near the end he didn't even recognize me. He kept calling for his mum and dad."

Lou stroked her friend's hand. "Poor Jack. Did his mother and father come?"
"Eventually. I had to beg and plead, and then, of course, when they finally came they were angry with me because I hadn't stopped him from visiting the slums, and because I hadn't told them how bad their son's condition was."
Jack's voice became hurt and bewildered. "Lou, I begged them for weeks to come see Mag. I told them repeatedly, 'He's very, very ill. He may not make it for much longer.' And they always refused. Until the last moment. And then they blamed me."
Lou shook her head. "I just don't understand, Jack. When you first wrote of Magnus's parents, you told me how kind they were, how good they'd been to you. Then suddenly, after you and Magnus married, you told me they'd practically disowned him. But you've never said *why*, and I've never asked. But why, Jack? What turned them against you?"
Jack couldn't answer. Now was the time, she thought, to tell Lou the truth, what she had been hiding for all these years. It was so hard, so hard to finally say the words. She began carefully, "They never forgave me. They felt I'd taken advantage of their son, that they'd taken me under their wing, and I'd betrayed them. Mrs Kendall called me a viper in her bosom; I remember that quite clearly."
"But why, Jack? Because you married their son? That just doesn't make sense." Lou was puzzled.
"Because I wasn't what they thought I was. They thought I was a pure English rose. They thought I was innocent and untouched. And then they found out that I wasn't."
"What?" Lou asked in shock. "How did they find out about you and Jimmy? Did you tell Magnus and he told them?"
"No. They found out because...they found out because I was pregnant, Lou. I was pregnant with Jimmy's baby, and I...I lost it. That's how they found out." She couldn't meet Lou's eyes. She was filled with shame. Not because she had been pregnant with Jimmy's child, a fact which she knew her friend
would never judge her for, but because she had kept it a secret these past six years, from everyone, but especially from Jimmy.

When she finally dared to meet Lou's eyes, they were wide with bewilderment. She watched as Lou scraped the chair back on the floor, rose, and left the room without a word.

CHAPTER 1 ¤ CHAPTER 2 ¤ CHAPTER 3 ¤ CHAPTER 4 ¤ CHAPTER 5 ¤ CHAPTER 6 ¤
CHAPTER 7