The Princess Club / Family Secrets / Mountain Madness Read online

  “We’re hopin’ to leave before school gets started,” Margaret whispered to Christy. “It’ll be easier on the children that way.”

  On the porch, Christy knelt down beside Hannah. “I want you to promise to write me, Hannah,” she said, “and let me know how you and John and Louise are doing.”

  “Miz Christy,” Hannah said, her eyes full of tears, “would you tell Della May I said goodbye?”

  “Of course.”

  “And would you tell Creed I’m a-keepin’ my fingers crossed that Scalawag turns up?”

  “Of course I—” Christy paused, shading her eyes from the morning sun. Who was that, heading down the path to the mission house?

  “I have a better idea, Hannah,” Christy said. “Why don’t you tell them yourself?”

  “Why, I’ll be,” Hannah cried. “It’s all them Allens!”

  “Even Granny,” the doctor said.

  “Probably come here to gloat,” John muttered. “See us run out, just the way they wanted.”

  “Let’s get goin’,” Curtis said gravely. “Ain’t no need for us to put up with them no longer.”

  But Della May was already running up the steps of the mission house, ahead of the others. “Hannah!” she cried. “Are you a-leavin’ already?”

  Hannah nodded. “We’re movin’ on to the city.”

  “But you can’t go, you just can’t! Leastways, not till Pa and Granny says their piece.” She tugged on Curtis’s sleeve. “Please, Mr. Washington. Please hear them out.”

  “We heard all we needed to hear from your pa and his shotgun,” John snapped.

  “But my granny come all this way, with her rheumatis’ and all,” Della May protested.

  Christy put her hand on Curtis’s arm. “Maybe you should hear what they have to say, Curtis.”

  “Please, Curtis,” Margaret said softly. “We been through this much. A few more words can’t hurt us.”

  Hobbling slowly, clutching at Mary’s arm, Granny Allen made her way to the house. Bob hung behind, hands in his pockets. The other Allen children followed.

  “We come to talk,” Granny announced when they’d reached the porch.

  “Say what you got to say,” Curtis said sharply. “We need to be movin’ on.”

  Granny motioned to Bob. “Go on, then. Be a man and speak your mind.”

  Bob cleared his throat. “I been doin’ some thinkin’,” he said, choosing each word with care. “Well, mostly, Granny’s been doin’ some talkin’.” He looked up at Curtis. “Granny’s the one what saved your grandpa, turns out.”

  Margaret gasped. “You? You’re Birdy?”

  “That was my growin’-up name,” Granny said. “Used it with William to protect myself.” She shook her head. “Did a lot o’ protectin’ after that. Worryin’ if’n anyone found out about what I done, what might happen. Never told a soul, ’ceptin’ one friend.”

  “But why?” Louise asked softly.

  “People woulda turned agin me. Maybe even strung me up to die. Things are better some now . . . but not much. I was afraid, child.” Her lower lip trembled. “But Della May made me think maybe what I done weren’t so awful after all. Maybe it was even a good thing. How many of us get the chance to save a man’s life?”

  “My granny’s a good woman,” Bob said. “Stubborn as a mad mule, but good. So I’ve been startin’ to think maybe I might be wrong about some things.”

  “What he means is, I told this ornery, cantankerous old cuss that he better think twice about the way he was treatin’ William Washington’s kinfolk.” Granny winked. “’Cause William was a friend of mine, and I aim to do right by him.”

  “Granny and Ma done yelled at Pa from sunup to sundown,” Della May confided in a loud whisper to Hannah.

  Bob rolled his eyes. “That’s enough outa you, young’un.”

  Curtis stepped down to Granny and took her hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, Ma’am. On behalf of all my kin, I want to thank you for what you done. None of us would be here without you.” He sighed. “But that’s all in the past. We still got to be movin’ on.”

  “Not so fast, young man!” Granny cried. “My Bob ain’t done with his speechifyin’. Are you, Bob?”

  Bob kicked at the ground with his toe. “The thing is . . .” he cleared his throat, “the thing of it is, seems I need some help at the mill. I get these spells, and . . . well, if’n you’d be willin’ to work, my boys and I could maybe help you build yourself a new cabin.” He shrugged. “If’n you wanted.”

  “We’re already set on leavin’,” Curtis said tersely. “Why stay in a place where people burn your cabin to the ground?”

  “There’s good people, too, Pa,” Hannah said. “Della May and Creed, they’s good as they come. And Miz Christy and the preacher and Doctor MacNeill. And Granny.” She smiled shyly at Granny Allen. “You said yourself Grandpa William woulda liked us settlin’ here.”

  Curtis shook his head. “I just don’t think . . .”

  “My, but you’re the spittin’ image of William!” Granny exclaimed. “Never could argue him outa anything. I was afeared he couldn’t make it north, but oh, he was set in his ways somethin’ fierce. ‘Birdy,’ he said, ’scares me awful to try. But it scares me worse not to.’”

  Curtis smiled, just a little. “He was a brave man, that Grandpa William.”

  “So are you, Pa,” Hannah whispered. “You ain’t a-scared o’ tryin’.”

  For a long time, Curtis stared off at the mountaintops, reaching up to the morning sky. At last, he walked over to Bob. They faced each other, eye to eye.

  “We’ll try it for a month,” Curtis said. He held out his hand.

  Bob stared at it, hesitating. “I ain’t never shook hands with one of your kind,” he admitted. He gave a resigned sigh. “But I s’pose I ain’t a-scared o’ tryin’, either.”

  Slowly, reluctantly, the two men grasped hands.

  Before the Allens left, Granny motioned Christy and the doctor aside. “I want to thank the two of you,” she said. “I was afraid to admit what I done. But that’s who I am, and I s’pose, all things considered, I’m glad of it.”

  “I wonder, Granny,” the doctor said, “who was it you told about William? My grandmother always looked up to you so. I wondered if . . .”

  “Factually speakin’, I did confide in your granny, Doc. I needed someone to fetch me a saw so’s I could remove William’s leg irons. I was desperate, and I took Helen aside and told her the whole truth.”

  ”And she helped you?” Christy asked.

  “Well, not quite.” Granny hesitated. “She said she was afraid to help me. But on the other hand, she never breathed a word of my secret to anyone else. And that was a kind of help, don’t you see?”

  “So she was afraid,” the doctor said, sounding a little disappointed.

  “Oh, we all get afraid from time to time, Doctor MacNeill.” Granny patted his arm gently. “She was a fine woman, your granny. You know how it is. We do what we can.”

  The doctor smiled sadly. “Some of us do, anyway.”

  Eighteen

  A week later, Christy was sitting with the children during the noon break when she saw Doctor MacNeill riding up.

  He dismounted and joined her on the lawn.

  “I haven’t heard from you in several days,” she said. “I was starting to worry.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve been preoccupied. I’ve been thinking, mostly . . . working some. The Washingtons’ cabin’s coming along nicely.”

  “It’s nice of you to help out.”

  “It’s the least I can do.” The doctor lay back on the lawn, staring up at the sky. “I have to compensate for my dear departed grandmother.”

  “Not everyone can be as brave as Granny Allen was,” Christy said. “I’m not sure I’d have that kind of courage.”

  The doctor sat up and pulled an envelope out of his breast pocket. “Has Ben Pentland been by yet with the mail?”

  “No. But he’s due today. Would
you like me to give that to him?”

  “Thanks.” The doctor passed her the envelope. Christy slipped it into a book.

  “Aren’t you at least going to read the address?”

  “Of course not. That’s your private concern.”

  “It’s to James,” the doctor said.

  Christy felt her heart plummet. “Is it about the job?”

  “Yes. I felt it was time.”

  “I understand.” Christy looked away to hide the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. “I’m awfully disappointed, Neil . . .”

  “I’m sorry. I know you had your heart set on waltzing at the wedding. Not to mention showing off your Italian.”

  Christy blinked. She looked at the doctor, eyes narrowed. “I don’t think I heard you right . . .”

  “Well, if I’m not going to take the job in Knoxville, I figured there was no point in going all the way there just to show you off. After all, you’re a beautiful woman, Christy. Who knows what might happen if I let all those eligible young doctors get a glimpse of you?”

  “You’re not . . . you’re not leaving us?” Christy threw her arms around the doctor’s neck and kissed him.

  The children broke into wild applause, laughing and pointing. Quickly Christy pulled away, her cheeks ablaze.

  “My, my,” the doctor said. “I had no idea I was in danger of being so sorely missed.”

  “I’m just glad for the Cove,” Christy said demurely. “That’s all.”

  “Well, I very much enjoyed kissing you on behalf of the Cove,” the doctor replied.

  “But why did you change your mind?” Christy asked, smiling in spite of herself.

  “Oh, a lot of things, I suppose. Seeing the Washingtons decide to stay. Whatever hardships I have, it’s nothing compared to what they’re up against. And hearing about my grandmother, Helen. I felt she’d let Cutter Gap down, just a little, that day Granny Allen asked for her help. I sort of feel like I need to make it up to this place. It’s crazy, I know.”

  “Not at all.”

  The doctor leapt to his feet. “And then there was you.”

  “Me?”

  He nodded. “See, I’m aiming to enter next year’s state waltzing championship. And I know just the girl I want as a partner.”

  Christy stood, smiling. “Really? Anyone I know?”

  “She speaks only one language. Her father isn’t a rich industrialist. And she’s not much of a dancer, either.”

  “What do you see in her, I wonder?”

  The doctor swept Christy into his arms, and they began to waltz, spinning around and around. The children watched, mesmerized.

  “It’s hard to say why I’m so fond of her,” he said. “Could be because she loves these mountains as much as I do.”

  When the break was over, Christy herded the last of the straggling children into the school. They’d been teasing her about her kiss and her dance with the doctor for an hour now. It was going to be a long afternoon. But at least that would make for a change from the tension still hovering in the air around the Washington children.

  It wasn’t enough, she knew, for Bob Allen to hire Curtis. It wasn’t enough that the Washingtons’ cabin was being rebuilt. The older boys still tormented John and Louise and Hannah whenever they could. Ugly words were still being whispered. Even Hannah and Della May still hid their friendship.

  Christy paused on the steps. Was everyone inside? She caught sight of Della May and Hannah, far off at the edge of the woods. “Girls!” she called. “Hurry up! No more dawdling!”

  “Teacher!” Della May cried. She pointed to an old oak tree. “Come see! Bring everyone and come see, now!”

  Christy frowned. The girls were taking an awful risk being seen together this way.

  “It’s important, Miz Christy!” Della May called. “I promise!”

  Christy shook her head. Well, she wasn’t eager to face a spelling lesson, either. After the doctor’s good news, she almost felt like playing hooky herself. “All right, then,” she called back, “but this had better be good, girls.”

  She poked her head in the schoolroom door. “Children,” she called, “follow me.”

  Christy lead the way toward the old oak, trailed by her eager students. “Where are we goin’, Teacher?” Little Burl asked.

  “Actually, I have no idea, Little Burl,” Christy confessed.

  Della May and Hannah were standing side-by-side next to the tree. There was a large hollow under the lowest branch, just about even with the girls’ heads.

  “Well,” Christy announced, “we’re all here.”

  “We got somethin’ to show y’all,” Della May announced. She put her arm around Hannah’s shoulder.

  “What are you doin’ with the likes o’ her?”

  Lundy demanded of Della May. “Your hand’ll wither up and fall off now, sure as anything.”

  “Hush, Lundy,” Della May said firmly. “First off, Creed gets to look.”

  The girls stepped aside and motioned for Creed. He peered inside the dark hole and gasped, hand to his mouth.

  “Shh,” Hannah said, grinning. “Don’t tell!”

  “It was all Hannah’s doin’, Creed,” Della May said. “She done found the hole.”

  “Now for Miz Christy,” Della May said.

  Christy peered inside the hole. There, to her amazement, were a mother raccoon and four tiny babies.

  “Scalawag?” Christy whispered.

  “Sure as shootin’,” Creed said.

  “But I thought he was a boy.”

  “Guess he had other ideas,” Creed said.

  “Did you see the nest?” Hannah asked.

  Christy looked again. The raccoons were nestled inside an old felt hat. It was lined with a hair ribbon, a rag doll, a plaid shirt, and a piece of chalk, among other things.

  “He always was a bit of a thief,” Creed admitted. “Can’t help hisself. Or herself, I guess I should say.”

  “Class,” Christy said, “Hannah and Della May have something I think you’ll be very interested in seeing. It seems we’ve found Scalawag. And in doing so, we’ve also located our classroom thief. I think we all owe the Washingtons a very big apology.”

  Instantly, the children crowded around the hole, jockeying for position.

  “My hat!” Lundy cried. “Why, you furry little crook, you!”

  “My dolly!” Vella exclaimed. “The babies are sleepin’ with my dolly!”

  John and Louise watched silently, standing far off to one side. No one apologized. No one even acknowledged that they were there.

  Christy heard laughter and turned. Behind her, heading up the school steps, were Hannah and Della May. They were holding hands and giggling, as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

  It wasn’t enough, Christy knew. Not at all.

  But at least it was a start.

  Mountain

  Madness

  Contents

  The Characters

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  About the Author

  The Characters

  CHRISTY RUDD HUDDLESTON, a nineteen-year-old school teacher.

  CHRISTY’S STUDENTS:

  CREED ALLEN, age nine.

  LITTLE BURL ALLEN, age six.

  WRAIGHT HOLT, age seventeen.

  ZACHARIAS HOLT, age nine.

  VELLA HOLT, age five.

  RUBY MAE MORRISON, age thirteen.

  JOHN SPENCER, age fifteen.

  CLARA SPENCER, age twelve.

  ZADY SPENCER, age ten.

  LULU SPENCER, age six.

  LUNDY TAYLOR, age se
venteen.

  LOUISE WASHINGTON, age fifteen.

  ALICE HENDERSON, a Quaker missionary who helped start the mission at Cutter Gap.

  FAIRLIGHT SPENCER, Christy’s closest friend in the Cove.

  JEB SPENCER, her husband.

  (Parents of Christy’s students John, Clara, Zady, and Lulu.)

  AUNT BIDDY, relative of the Holt children.

  BEN PENTLAND, the mailman.

  DAVID GRANTLAND, the young minister.

  IDA GRANTLAND, David’s sister and the mission housekeeper.

  GRANNY O’ TEALE, superstitious mountain woman.

  DR. NEIL MACNEILL, the physician of the Cove.

  BIRD’S-EYE TAYLOR, father of Christy’s student Lundy.

  BOB ALLEN, keeper of the mill by Blackberry Creek.

  (Father of Christy’s students Creed and Little Burl.)

  EDWARD HINTON, soldier at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876.

  MARY DAVIS, Edward Hinton’s sister.

  One

  Teacher! Look out! There’s somethin’ dangerous lurkin’ up in that big ol’ tree!”

  Christy Huddleston paused on the tree-lined path. “Zach Holt, I’m not falling for that old trick of yours again. That’s the third time you’ve tried to scare me since we started on this nature walk.”

  “B—but teacher, I’m a-tellin’ you for your own good!” Zach, a painfully thin nine-year-old, pointed toward the canopy of sun-dappled trees. “He’s a ferocious man-eatin’ monster. I’m afeared!”

  With a tolerant sigh, Christy followed Zach’s gaze.

  “G-G-R-R-R-R!” A blood-curdling roar filled the air.

  Christy leapt back as the growling creature dropped to the path on all fours.

  “Howdy, Miz Christy,” it said.

  Christy grinned. She pulled a leaf out of Creed Allen’s tousled hair. “Creed, Zach was right about one thing. You really are a monster sometimes.”