Evergreen Falls by Kimberley Freeman

being independent, ever since Violet had turned fourteen and Mama had forced her out of school to find work. That was nearly six years ago, and her employment record had been patchy ever since.
    Violet glanced up. The lights were on in Mama’s room at the side of the house. “Mama, I lost my job,” she said again, and she strode with purpose towards the house.
    She let herself in to save her mother getting up. Mama’s knees grew worse as the months went by. Violet had no idea how she stood by the copper every day, stirring sheets and pillow slips and towels. Violet’s mother was not old—only forty-five—but her own mother and grandmother had succumbed early to arthritic pain. Violet wondered if it would come to her one day, too, or if she had inherited her father’s joints. Not that she knew where or even who her father was.
    Mama looked up from her threadbare chair by the window, gave Violet a puzzled smile and said, “I saw you up the street. Why do you have your trunk with you?”
    “Mama, I . . .”
    Mama waited, expectant.
    “I’ve got a new job. Up in the mountains.”
    “Really?”
    “The Evergreen Spa Hotel. Much fancier than the Senator.”
    “Good girl. When do you start?”
    “Soon. Can I stay with you until then? I had to give notice at work, and they were beastly about it and kicked me out straightaway. I’ll help with the laundry, and I have a spot of money saved, so I can pay for my own food.” Violet’s heart was hammering in her throat. A lie, a great big lie. Now she had to convince Clive to find her a job, or it would all fall apart.
    *  *  *
    Violet arrived at Central Station at ten minutes to eight, dressed carefully in a gray silk dress and black wool stockings. She wanted to look appealing, but not too appealing. She made her way across the busy concourse. The train waited at the crowded platform, and Violet feared that he might already be on board and she’d missed him. Would she have to follow him all the way to the Blue Mountains? She pushed through the crowd, searching for his pale hair,but all the men in brown and gray suits wore brown and gray hats, so she started calling, “Clive! Clive!”
    In the end, he found her, approaching her from behind and grasping her shoulder so that her heart gave a little jump.
    “Violet! You came!” His gray eyes were shining, and it almost hurt to say what she had to say next.
    “Clive. I’m in a terrible mess. I’ve lost my job. I wondered if . . . you could ask about a position for me at the Evergreen Spa?”
    The light in his eyes dulled, and for a moment irritation crossed his brow. But the expression was fleeting and he smiled nonetheless. “Not only will I ask, I’ll tell them you’re the best waitress I’ve ever worked with.”
    “Thank you,” she said, and released the half breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding on to. “I’m so grateful. I’m not proud. I could be a chambermaid just as well as a waitress. I simply . . . I simply can’t be out of work for long. Mama’s joints are bad and I know she worries she won’t be able to work much longer.”
    “You can rely on me,” he said, then hesitated, about to say something else.
    “What is it?” she asked.
    “Can I rely on you?”
    “Rely . . . I’m not sure I know what you mean.” Her heart was in her throat. Was he asking her for some kind of favor she wasn’t prepared to give? He didn’t seem that sort of fellow, but she had to admit she’d led him on terribly.
    “If I tell them you’re the best waitress I’ve ever worked with, you won’t make a liar of me, will you? You won’t turn up late or be rude to the head waiter or flirt with the customers?”
    Violet winced. It was a painful but true portrait of her behavior at work. “Clive, I should be so grateful that I will grow up. All the way up. I will not besmirch your good name, I promise.”
    “Good.” His eyes were kind. He tapped her chin with his thumb.
    Violet knew he