Sarah's Roses, Book I: Roses of Blue

Chapter XXIV

Chapter XXIV

“Sammy, are you easily bribed?”

Sammy blinked at me, trying to grasp the significance of the question I had thrown at him. He had been working in the garden when I had flown over to him with wide eyes and attacked him with my questions.

“Am I…”

“Easily bribed!” I finished impatiently for him.

“I…uh…depends for what?”

“For me; I mean, by me, I mean, you know what I mean.”

“Sarah, let’s start from the beginning, and work on your explanation skills, which are severely lacking.”

I took a couple of deep breaths to calm all the emotions that had arisen in me from all that had been said by my aunt and uncle.

“You’re obviously agitated; did you and your aunt have a fight?”

“No, Aunt Helen and Uncle Andrew are in there,” I pointed to the house, “arguing.”

“And you were eavesdropping?” He lifted an eyebrow.

“Naturally. They were debating about me, how could I not listen?”

“Did it have something to do with your refusing Albert Thompson?”

“Everything to do with it. But that’s not what I came to bribe you about. During the course of the conversation, they mentioned the name Harriet and Aunt Helen got all upset when Uncle Andrew brought her up. The point is, before Mama died, she pressed a note into my hand and begged me to get it to Harriet. I’ve asked just about every adult in this house who knew my mother, but they all refuse to talk about her. Everyone says it’s something I had better not know. Now I truly know that there was a Harriet in this household, and from what I heard, somehow my grandfather was involved. So, I was wondering, perhaps you could try and get it out of your mother or father. I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll get you books from my uncle’s library if I have too! It’s terribly important that I at least discover who Harriet was.”

Sammy thought for a moment, “I don’t promise you I’ll be able to get anything out of Mama or Papa! If it’s a secret, they probably will respect it.”

“But you have to, Sammy. Not for me, for my mother, it was so important to her that I get the note to Harriet and I feel bad that it’s been nearly ten years since Mama died and I still haven’t been able to fulfill my last promise to her.”

“I’ll try, Sarah. I’m not going to make any promises, but I’ll find out what I can.”

“Thank you, Sammy.” I threw my hands around him and kissed him.

“Right, now let me work,” he laughed as he disentangled himself from my embrace, “I’ve got flower bushes to work with if I want them to bloom on your birthday. It isn’t easy to get them to blossom earlier than they are supposed to. Don’t you have like reading or something that you are supposed to do?”

“Not really, with Mr. Jenning taking leave of us this January I don’t really have anything to study anymore. Not that I mind, Mr. Jenning was a good tutor and all, but I’m nearly eighteen, how long was I supposed to remain a student? Though now that I think of it I should go and practice my music or Aunt Helen will be annoyed with my poor music skill.” I gave him one more kiss and ran off to the house to not distract him from his ‘important work’.

***

I gave Sammy a couple of days, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to find it all out at once. At last my patience wore thin and I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. I found him in the garden (the place I usually found him), grafting the roses.