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Two years later
New York City
“Well, here we are.”
John juggled Mimi with one arm and held out another to help May from the cab. His young wife took his hand and descended the cab steps carefully. She looked pretty as a picture, but she wasn’t used to wearing a feathered bonnet, a velvet gown with big sleeves, and a bigger skirt with a fringed hem.
The night before, at their hotel, her dark eyes had widened in awe as he showed her the new silk slippers he’d bought her. “I can’t walk in these,” she’d told him, but so far she was doing a great job.
John took her hand and led her down the bustling sidewalk. He’d written a letter to the St. Margaret Orphanage and had received a letter in reply from one of the sisters. He’d been saddened to hear that Mother Eugenie Theodora had died, and even more saddened to hear that the orphanage was on the point of closing down.
He’d decided to visit his childhood home one more time before it disappeared, and so he’d bought train tickets to New York and took his little family on their first trip away from home.
Far, far away from home.
It was May’s first journey east of the Mississippi, and a few years on the frontier was helping John see his old neighborhood like May probably was. After the wilderness, New York was kind of a shock. John cast his wife a sidelong glance. Her dark eyes were round as saucers as she followed the brick buildings six stories above the street, and the glittering church spires that soared even higher.
John led the way up the familiar brick steps of the St. Margaret Orphanage, handed Mimi off to May, and knocked briskly. To his surprise, his heart quickened, and he smoothed his hair self-consciously while waiting for the big door to open.
After a few moments the ponderous door creaked open, and a small, rosy face appeared under a snowy coif. The woman stared at him blankly for a moment, then gasped, “Why, it’s… it’s little Johnny Ryan! My, you’re all grown up now, aren’t you?” she marveled.
John smiled and nodded. “Sister Evangeline?”
“That’s right! I didn’t know if you’d remember me. It’s been a long time since you last saw me, and I’ve changed a lot since then, I’m afraid.”
John put an arm around May’s shoulder. “Sister, this is my wife May, and our little daughter Mimi.”
The sister beamed at them. “It’s lovely to meet you. Come in, come in!” She stood aside for them to pass, then shut the big door. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come when I wrote,” she confessed. “Missouri’s such a long way from New York. But I’m so glad you did.”
John waited for her in the big, drafty foyer, and his eyes traveled over the paneled walls wistfully. He knew every inch of that big, rambling building, and being inside it again brought his childhood back to him in a rush of memories.
Sister Evangeline bustled past him and glanced at him over her shoulder. “Come to my office. We can talk there. The children are still in their classrooms, so we won’t be disturbed.” Her twinkling glance took in Mimi’s plump baby face and rosebud mouth. “Your little daughter’s a shop window doll,” she smiled. “If she can have sweets, I have a jar of lemon drops on my desk.”
She turned into a doorway at the end of a long hall, a room John recognized as the abbess’ office. He followed May inside and could almost see Mother Eugenie Theodora sitting behind the big desk, her wrinkled face and hands worn smooth soft.
“Sit down.” Sister Evangeline nodded toward a pair of chairs, and moved to sit down in her own. She lifted the lid off a glass jar and handed Mimi a sweet as she sat in May’s lap. John smiled as Mimi crammed it into her mouth without a moment’s hesitation.
“This is a real treat,” Sister Evangeline told him. “We seldom get to see our boys and girls after they grow up. I suppose this is the last time we will see one of our adult children,” she sighed. “As I told you in the letter, we’re going to be closing down soon.”
John shifted in his chair. “I’m real sorry to hear that, sister,” he muttered uncomfortably. “It’s partly because of that I came to New York.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small bag, leaned across the desk, and pressed it into the nun’s hand.
She stared at it in confusion. “What’s this?”
John cracked a crooked smile. “Think of it as my way of saying thank you,” he mumbled and rubbed his nose. “It won’t keep the orphanage from closing down, but I hope it’ll make things go a bit smoother.”
The sister nodded and shot him a grateful glance. “I don’t know what to say, John,” she murmured. “Except thank you.”
She opened her desk and deposited the bag into a drawer, and John went on, “That was a big reason I came back, but not the only one. I… I met a man who claimed to be a relative of mine,” he stammered. “He told me that he was my uncle, and that my name isn’t Ryan, but MacDermott. It’s a long story,” he sighed, “but I can’t help wondering if you might have anything to add. Any old records… anything at all. After the orphanage closes, I won’t get the chance.”
The sister’s face went blank. “Nothing comes to mind,” she replied slowly, “but it was years ago, and I wasn’t in charge then.” A sharp, alert look returned to her eyes, and she added, “But we keep meticulous records about our children. I’ll be glad to look. If there’s anything here, I’ll find it.”
John felt his shoulders relaxing in relief. “I’d sure appreciate it, sister,” he nodded.
“If you don’t mind waiting, I can go look now,” the sister told them. “You said the name was MacDermott?”
“That’s right.”
She rose. “I’ll check our records for that name. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“Thank you, sister.”
They watched as the sister walked out of the office, and then looked at one another. John reached for May’s hand and squeezed it. She didn’t look very happy, and he knew why.
She was afraid that seeing his old home would tempt him to stay there. She didn’t like New York at all. He could see it in her eyes, her expression, her body language. It frightened and disturbed her, and he was moved to lean in and give her a peck on the cheek.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “We’ll go home soon, I promise.”
She gave him a faint smile, but he could see that she wasn’t going to relax until they were back home.
They waited for what seemed like a long time. Mimi’s head gradually drooped against May’s breast, and as time wore on, she dropped off to sleep. John was beginning to wonder if the sister had been waylaid and diverted by some other duty when the door opened and she came bustling back in.
She was holding a piece of paper in her hand, and his eye followed it as she crossed the room and sat down behind her desk. “I’d forgotten about this,” she confessed and handed it to him. “I meant to send it to you, but at that time I didn’t know where you lived. I set it aside for safekeeping, then other things crowded in, and I forgot about it. I’m sorry.”
She smiled at him. “I can’t see you without remembering little Billy Bowman,” she laughed. “You two were practically joined at the hip. I suppose he’s married and has children of his own now.”
John frowned at his hands, because he didn’t dare meet her eyes. “I expect you’re right, sister.”
The paper she’d given him was an envelope addressed to John MacDermott in an elegant script, with a lawyer’s office as the return address. He opened it and unfolded a letter on thick, expensive stationery. It read:
Dear Mr. MacDermott:
My name is Sterling Connor. I’m an attorney here in New York, and Mrs. John MacDermott Sr. was a client of mine until very recently.
John glanced at the date. The letter had been written three years ago.
Mrs. MacDermott confided to me that she was anxious to make contact with her grandson. She told me that her sons had quarreled violently over their inheritance and that her younger son had fled with her baby grandson. It grieved her, but there was nothing she could do. For years she had no word of her son John, or of you.
The issue revived a few weeks ago when her other son Angus appeared at her door asking about you. She learned from him that he suspected your parents had abandoned you somewhere in New York, probably under a different name.
As you can imagine, she was distraught at this news. She wanted very much to find you, especially since her own health was failing. She tasked me to do my utmost, and I have learned that a baby boy was left at the St. Margaret Orphanage on the same night your father fled the city.
Of course that was years ago, and when I came to look for you, you were long gone. The sisters could not tell me where you went, so I am leaving this letter in the hope that it will one day find you.
Sadly, my client passed away a few days ago, but I will do my best to honor her wishes. If this letter does find you, please visit me at my offices in Manhattan. I am on William Street not far from the Merchant’s Exchange.
Mrs. MacDermott told me that she gave you a little necklace when you were born. If you still have it, this token will prove that you are indeed the man I’m looking for.
I hope that I shall meet you soon. Until then, I am
Your servant,
Sterling Connor, Attorney at Law.
John gasped, and his hand went involuntarily to the copper locket around his neck. He raised wondering eyes to the sister’s face.
She stared at him curiously. “Is there something wrong, John?”
He shook his head in wonder. “No. It’s just odd to find out who I am at last. That’s all.” He raised his eyes to the sister’s face and was surprised to discover it blurred.
* * *
An hour later, John led May to the gleaming doors of the law office of Connor, James, and Williams in Manhattan. He opened it and stood aside for May to enter, then took a deep breath and followed.
The interior was the last word in elegance, and John felt as awed as May looked to see a crystal chandelier in the lobby, brass work on all the doors, exotic carpets on the floors, and silk paper on every wall.
A young clerk was seated at a desk facing the door, and John felt his face go hot as the fellow swept them with his eyes and drawled, “Can I help you?”
John cleared his throat and met the man’s eye. “I was hoping to see Mister Connor,” he replied. “I’m John MacDermott, replying to the letter he sent me. It’s been three years, but I think he’ll remember.”
The fellow’s dubious look deepened, and his eye lingered on John’s coat. But he stood with a sigh. “I’ll see if Mr. Connor can find a few minutes. Wait here.”
He walked out abruptly, and John helped May sit down on a silk-upholstered couch in the lounge. But to his surprise, they didn’t have to wait at all. The door opened immediately and the clerk called, “He can see you. This way.”
They all followed the young man through the door to a long, wood-paneled hall and through another door. John found himself facing a distinguished older gentleman with gray hair, long sideburns, and a neatly-trimmed mustache. He was standing behind a gleaming wooden desk, and he leaned over it to offer his hand.
“Mr. MacDermott! It’s a pleasure to meet you at last. Please, sit down.”
His bright eyes moved to May, and John told him, “This is my wife May and our daughter Mimi.”
The older man took his seat again, and his keen eyes glinted. “Well! I’m delighted that my letter found you, Mr. MacDermott. I wish it could’ve happened in time for you to meet my client, but I’m happy to find you at last.”
He opened a locked drawer in his desk and pulled out a file. “Did you read the part in my letter about the necklace, Mr. MacDermott?”
“Yes, I did.” John reached into his shirt, pulled the chain from his neck, and handed the locket to the attorney. The older man took it with a stricken look and opened its leaves reverently.
“Almost exactly as she described it to me,” he murmured sadly. “The engraving is new, but the locket itself is identical.” He raised his eyes, smiled, and handed it back.
“Well, now that you’ve proved your identity, Mr. MacDermott, it’s my happy duty to inform you that you’re a very wealthy man. My client explained that you’d be ignorant of your family. So I should tell you that you’re the grandson and sole heir of one of the wealthiest shipping magnates in the world, the late John MacDermott Senior, originally from Glasgow, Scotland.”
John felt his mouth dropping open, and he exchanged a goggling look with May before turning his eyes back on the attorney.
“On his death, your grandfather gave both his sons a very generous inheritance, but unfortunately, they quarreled violently over it. The result was a terrible rift in the family that resulted in your parents fleeing the city, and a permanent estrangement between my client and her son Angus.
“When Mrs. MacDermott learned that you might’ve been abandoned by your terrified parents, she launched on a search for you that only ended with her death. But she never lost hope that she’d find you. She left her fortune to you, as a way of making sure you’d always be cared for.”
John blinked back tears and turned to May as her fingers curled around his.
“Your grandmother owned an exquisite town house not far from here,” the attorney went on. “It is now yours, along with your grandfather’s shipping company, its many foreign holdings, and his considerable fortune. You are, in fact, one of the richest men in this city. Congratulations, Mr. MacDermott.”
John blinked at the man and shook his head. “I don’t know what to say,” he stammered. He laughed and turned to May, but his smile faded as he saw the dread in her dark eyes. It wasn’t good news to her.
She was terrified that his head was going to be turned. That he’d settle down in New York. That he’d change. He had to admit he was curious about his family, that he wanted to see where his grandmother had lived.
The attorney laughed at his expression. “I can give you Mrs. MacDermott’s letters,” he added softly. “I expect you’ll want to read them. I also have the key to her mansion and can help you take possession of it and her bank accounts. You’ll want to find out about your family, of course.”
John bit his lip and struggled with himself, then lifted his eyes to the other man’s face. “I’ll take as much information about my grandparents as you can give me,” he replied slowly, and turned to look at May. “The rest you can sell. I already have a family, and a home, and we’ve been away from it too long.”
He smiled to see joy leap up in May’s face, followed by tears of overwhelming relief, and he squeezed her hand as the attorney sputtered, “Why, you mean you don’t have any ambition to take over your grandfather’s business, to take your rightful place as his heir?”
John turned to look at him. “None,” he smiled. “Open an account in my name, and throw all the money into that. I’ll tap it if I need it. Though I expect I won’t need it very often. I lead a simple life.”
He stood up and turned to go, then snapped his fingers. “Oh, and pay a call to the St. Margaret Orphanage,” he added. “Whatever they need to keep the place open, pay it. And I want them to get a yearly allowance to keep it healthy.”
The older man stared at him in dumbfounded silence, but took his hand when he held it out. “Thanks for everything you’ve done, Mr. Connor. I’ll take my grandmother’s letters from you. Everything else you can burn.”
He took the folder from the attorney, then May’s arm. He led her out of the office with his head high and his heart light. His life had come full circle, and all the questions that had tormented him were gone. The answers had been stranger, and both better and worse than he’d ever imagined, but they were all in the past now. He had a future and a family of his own to build.
The door had hardly closed behind them when May pressed her lips fervently to his. Her eyes raised to his were full of love and gratitude.
“I knew you would do this,” she breathed. “You are a good man.”
He smiled down at her. “Keep telling me that,” he whispered, kissed her cheek, and hailed a cab.
OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, "Grit and Glory on the Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
Hello there, I really hope you liked my new western adventure story and the extended epilogue! I would be very happy to read your thoughts below.
Another great story by you! Hard to imagine how brothers want to harm each other and their sister too.. Keep up the great story lines and I can’t wait until I get your next book!! Was too bad for johns best friend to turn so bad in the story. I used to only read murder mysteries but I’m hooked on western books.
I really enjoyed the book. And was really glad everything turned out well for John and May