Free Ashley Merrick - India: Bride of Indiana (American Mail-Order Bride 19) by Ashley Merrick Page A

fathom that they’d so easily agreed to donate an expensive buggy to charity. Having that kind of wealth was so foreign to her. But she was so glad that they were so generous. All of the donations they’d received should raise a significant amount of money for their charity.

Chapter 15
    A few mornings later , India had packed a lunch bag for Julia as she usually did and was surprised when she noticed out of the corner of her eye Julia opening her bag, looking inside, then cutting herself another thick slice of bread and adding it to the bag.
    “Do you get hungrier at lunch, Julia?” India asked. She didn’t mind at all that she took the extra bread, but was surprised as Julia wasn’t generally a big eater.
    “It’s not for me. It’s for Sylvia.”
    “Who’s Sylvia?” India asked.
    “She’s a girl in school. She’s a year younger than me and very quiet. I noticed yesterday that she didn’t have anything for lunch. She looked hungry, so I gave her half of my sandwich. She said no at first, but I told her that I really wasn’t very hungry.”
    “So you want a little extra in case she doesn’t have her lunch again today?” India understood and got up to make another sandwich for Julia to bring in. She added it to the bag, along with an apple. “Now you can each have your own.” She frowned and then added, “See if you can find out why she’s hungry. Maybe there’s something going on at home that we could help with?”
    “All right, I’ll ask her.”
    Sylvia was on India’s mind as she and Sammy pulled up in the buggy later that afternoon to pick Julia up. She noticed a slight, blonde girl walk out with Julia and wave goodbye, and wondered if that was Sylvia. When Julia climbed into the buggy and they started on their way home, she asked her how her day had gone.
    “It was good. I got a perfect score on my spelling test!”
    “That’s great, honey.”
    Julia chattered on about her day, but didn’t mention Sylvia until India asked if she’d brought her lunch in that day.
    “No, she didn’t. So it was a good thing that I had extra.” She was quiet for a moment and looked as though she was trying to remember something. “I asked her why she wasn’t bringing her lunch in and she said her mother’s been really sick. She hasn’t gotten out of bed for two days now and there’s hardly any food in their house. She said her father should be home tonight, though, so he would take care of everything.”
    India was alarmed. “Where has her father been?”
    “He delivers wood. Rides on a big boat to take it there.” India realized she was talking about the river barges that transported goods across state lines. It made sense that he’d be gone for days at a time. Still, India worried that he might not make it home tonight and if he didn’t, there would be no food for his family and who knew how sick the girl’s mother was? India turned the buggy around and drove back toward the mercantile and to Dr. Simpson’s office which was right next door. She went inside with the children and asked to speak to the doctor for just a moment.
    “I’m terribly sorry to bother you,” India said when the doctor came out to see her. She told him about Sylvia’s mother and her concern that she was too weak to get out of bed.
    “I’ll head out there right now to see her. You did the right thing by coming in,” he assured her.
    India drove home and was still worried about Sylvia and her mother. Even with the doctor visiting, there was still next to no food in the house. India had a huge pot of chicken soup resting on the stove and two freshly baked loaves of bread cooling on the counter. There was more than enough for all of them.
    When she reached the house, she tied the horses up out front instead of taking them into the barn for the evening. The children followed her in, and she found an old pan that she didn’t need to use any time soon and filled it with chicken soup. There was enough to feed Sylvia, her