When the ship docked, Daisy and George were waiting for her. Daisy, as usual, was decked out in the latest fashion, knee-length dress and single long strand of pearls, with her hair cut in the stylish new ‘bob’. George was quite dashing in his three-piece black suit and top hat. Martha felt a little self-conscious in her black mourning dress, not quite as short as Daisy’s, but she was a little more conservative than her adventurous sister.
A neighbour’s daughter was watching the children at home. George had borrowed his brother’s automobile to make the trip faster and easier. The 1922 Ford Model T was three years old, but it was his brother’s pride and joy. Loaning it was not something he did easily. However, he had deemed Martha’s arrival to be a worthy cause.
The first couple of days were wonderful. Martha spent time getting to know her three nieces and two nephews. Her quiet, patient, brother-in-law left two days after Martha’s arrival, on a voyage that was to last four months. He should be home before the baby was due if everything went according to plan.
After the children were in bed, on their first night alone, Daisy was eager for stories about the people back home. Martha wasn’t much help.
‘You haven’t changed, Martha. You still shy away from gossip, don’t you?’
‘I don’t like talking about people behind their backs, Daisy. It just doesn’t feel right.’
‘But you must have overheard things sometimes,’ Daisy urged. ‘You can’t close your ears.’
Martha twisted her hands nervously in her lap. ‘I tried not to listen, but…’
‘Go on.’
‘Well, you remember Tom Boskins?’
‘Black Tom?’ Daisy smiled. ‘Better than you know.’
Martha’s voice dropped to a mere whisper. ‘Well, I overheard some rumour that he might be planning to look for you.’
‘Did you hear why?’ Daisy’s neat eyebrows were drawn into a ‘V’.
‘Something about revenge for a child, but I must have got it wrong, because he doesn’t have any children.’
‘Yes, well, he almost did,’ Daisy said. ‘I thought he was smart enough to keep his fool mouth shut. But he’ll do well to stay away from me, or he’ll wind up with more trouble than he knows how to handle.’
Martha frowned. ‘Daisy, what are you saying?’
Daisy settled back in her chair. ‘I’ve been dying to tell someone for years and I know I can trust you to keep quiet. And I need you to help me with this one.’
‘What do you mean?’ Martha’s heart rate tripled.
‘When I worked at the hotel in Glasgow, Black Tom was a sailor. He had money to spend when he was in port and he was lots of fun to be with.’
‘But he’s… Daisy, he’s a black man!’
‘Actually, he’s a half-breed, my dear. Anyway, to make a long story short, I got pregnant.’
Martha’s eyes flew open and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. ‘You have a black child?’
Daisy drew deeply on her cigarette; something she knew had been another shock to her sister’s sensibilities, her newly acquired smoking habit. ‘Well, a bastard child would be bad enough, but I couldn’t let it happen, since my passage for Canada was already booked. I found an old crone, a gypsy. She gave me something…’ Daisy shrugged.
