May 15, 1889
Emily and Angelina were struggling to prepare breakfast when Nellie stumbled out of her room. Try as she might, Emily couldn’t get one egg to break cleanly without the yoke breaking too. And none of the boarders liked scrambled eggs. She muttered under her breath, stopping when she heard the door creak. She turned to face Nellie, asking the question foremost in her mind.
“How is Mary Ann? Is she going to be all right?”
The long night and little sleep showed on Nellie’s face, adding years to her normal appearance. Her hair hung in tangles, not yet neatly braided as usual, although she had put on a clean dress. She shrugged.
“As good as could be expected, I would say. She lost the baby, of course, but under the circumstances, that’s a blessing. Now all her energies can go to
