A Matter of Honor

This spin-off story is inspired by the events in Andrea Carter and the Dangerous Decision, when Andi dreads having to entertain Virginia Foster for the afternoon. Andi's oldest brother Justin is strong, patient, and smart. He got his first notion of being a lawyer when he was only ten years old and wanted justice for his younger sister Katherine. 

Chapter One

September 1862

 

“Children, your attention please,” Miss Hall said.

 Eighteen children looked up.

“We have a new student with us this term,” the schoolmistress announced brightly. I would you all to say hello to Katherine Carter. She is Justin’s and Chad’s younger sister.”

“Hello, Katherine,” the students chorused.

From his seat near the back of the room, Justin watched his little sister fidget. Kate might be a firecracker at home, but right now she looked shy, scared, and small for her seven years. She’d been awful sick with the measles last winter.

Mother had kept her home from school an extra year to regain her health.

One row ahead and to Justin’s left, Chad leaned close to whisper something that drew a sneer from his unruly seatmate, Freddy Stone.

Freddy was known to torment new students, especially little girls. Kate, with her eyes downcast and her fingers nervously twirling the two white hair ribbons on her braids, marked her as a perfect target for Freddy.

Chad had better warn Freddy what’s what, Justin mused. And I’ll watch them both.

He would keep an eye on Freddy to make sure the boy minded his manners around Kate, and he’d keep his younger brother from beating the stuffing out of Freddy if he didn’t behave.

It was a mystery to Justin’s logical, ten-year-old thinking why Miss Hall would seat the two boys together. The tiny schoolhouse in Millerton wasn’t big enough for both a mean-mouthed sissy and a hothead.

The teacher laid a comforting hand on Kate’s shoulder. “Katherine, you may sit next to Molly Stevens right here in the front row. Your mother’s note tells me you’re already in the First Reader.”

“Yes’m,” Kate whispered.

Miss Hall, who was often accused of having eyes in the back of her head, snapped around from settling Kate into her seat beside Molly. “Chad Carter! I want that peashooter and those pebbles on my desk at once.”

Sheepishly, Chad got up. He scuffed his way to Miss Hall’s desk and laid his treasures down. On his way back to his seat, Justin gave him a dark scowl.

Wait ’til Father finds out about this, he mouthed. Chad had been warned about taking that peashooter to school.

Chad rolled his eyes at Justin. “You better not tell him,” he whispered.

Miss Hall’s next words snapped Chad’s mouth closed.

“You might take Katherine as a lesson, Chad,” Miss Hall was saying. “Just seven years old and already in the First Reader. If you don’t start applying yourself, your little sister will not only catch up but surpass you.”

Chad flushed and flung himself into his seat. He didn’t say anything out loud, but Justin knew what his brother was thinking. It showed all over the glare he gave Kate. Teacher’s pet already!

Good thing she couldn’t see his face. 

Chad’s lagging behind in all subjects was a sore topic both at home and at school.

Justin wrinkled his forehead with suspicion. Chad would defend Kate to his dying breath if another boy teased her, but he was not above getting back at her himself, especially if she made him look bad.

Chad bent over his slate and started scribbling.

He’s up to something, Justin thought.

Whether it was revenge on Miss Hall for shaming him about his schoolwork or slipping a frog into the Carter lunch pail just as Kate reached for her sandwich, Chad was planning something he shouldn’t.

He might even gobble her lunch and make her go hungry.

Justin looked at the clock. Three long hours until noon. He sighed. Whatever Chad was up to, he’d have to wait until the noon recess to find out.

Sometime later, absorbed in reading about ancient Rome, Justin became aware of a whispering buzz. It took him a moment to come back from his book.

Eyes narrowed in annoyance, he lifted his head and glanced around the room. Near the front with the little students, Robbie Porter was snickering and pointing across the aisle at Kate.

Justin frowned. What’s so funny?

Chad sat straight up in his seat, his face as red as Mother’s tomatoes. He gave Justin a horrified look that shouted what do we do?

Justin shrugged. He had no idea what was going on. And surely, anything amiss was Miss Hall’s problem, not his. He returned to his history lesson.

But not for long. From the corner of his eye, Justin kept watch on his brother.

Beside Chad, Freddy didn’t hide his glee at Kate’s shaking shoulders and low, whimpering sobs. Hand over his mouth, Freddy snorted so loudly that Miss Hall looked up from listening to the Third Reader class.

Chad jabbed his elbow into Freddy, turning the snort into a painful grunt.

“That’s enough.” Miss Hall rapped her ruler on the desk for order.

Silence descended, except from Chad’s desk, where Freddy’s grunts had turned to yelps.

“You boys stop that rowdy behavior this instant,” Miss Hall ordered. The ruler came down and cracked against her desktop.

Chad sat still.

Justin smothered a grin.  It was better that the ruler whacked the teacher’s desk than Chad’s palm. His brother received more than his fair share of palm-whacking.

Glowering at her pupils, Miss Hall stood and walked toward Kate’s desk. Molly scooted to the very edge of the double seat. The little girl’s eyes were round with shock.

Puzzled, Justin studied Kate. What could have happened to make Chad turn red and the rest of the kids laugh? It couldn’t be a first-grade lessons. Kate was sharp as a tack.

Then what?

The Romans were entirely forgotten as Justin watched this unusual drama play out.

Miss Hall knelt and talked quietly to Kate.

Kate bowed her head in shame.

Then it hit Justin. Oh no! His neck felt warm when he saw the small puddle under Kate’s desk.

“Martha,” the teacher said to one of the older girls, “would you please get a mop and clean up this spill?”

Martha jumped up to do Miss Hall’s bidding.

Holding out her hand, the teacher led Kate between the rows of seats and into the cloakroom at the back of the classroom.

Silent tears streamed down Kate’s face.

“Continue your studies, children,” the teacher said in a firm voice.

Justin shook his head. That would be impossible.

 

 

Chapter Two

 

As soon as the door clicked shut, Freddy howled and slap his desk. Snickers rippled through the classroom.

Justin felt the heat creep from his neck and into his cheeks.

Why hadn’t Kate asked Miss Hall to use the privy? She wasn’t a baby. Even four-year-old Mitch at home was past having accidents.

Wait till Mother hears about this!

Then Justin paused, ashamed, remembering his own first day of school. He had been six years old. In his nervousness, he had eaten everything in his lunch pail on the way to school.

By the time school began, his belly was churning.

Then the worst happened. Justin had lost his early lunch all over his desk when the teacher asked him to spell his name.

Sudden sympathy for his little sister washed over Justin. He exchanged an uneasy glance with Chad.

What should the Carter brothers do about this awkward situation?

Just then, Freddy poked Chad. “You better find a diaper for your baby of a sister.”

Justin bit his lip. He knew what this Carter brother better do—stop Chad from smashing Freddy’s nose into the desktop. He sprang from his seat and caught his brother just in time.

“Simmer down,” Justin warned. “Punching Freddy’s not worth a lickin’.”

Chad ground his teeth. “Let me go.”

“Uh-uh.” Justin held on.

He knew how Chad felt. But any boy who tried to settle up with the smirking sissy Freddy soon found himself on the wrong side of the grown-ups.

Freddy could put on the face of a sweet cherub quicker than a bee could sting. What grown-up wouldn’t believe a darling little boy whose eyes filled with tears when he proclaimed his innocence?

Freddy slouched in his seat and grinned like a possum at the Carter brothers. He folded his arms across his spotless white, ruffled shirt and dared them with a smirk to touch him.

Then he said an ugly word about Kate.

Righteous anger exploded inside Justin. He gripped Chad tighter, mostly to keep himself from flying into Freddy.

The cloakroom door opened, and all three boys froze.

“Justin,” Miss Hall called sweetly, “would you please come here?”

Justin let go of Chad. “Don’t you dare get back at Freddy here in the classroom,” he whispered. Then he turned to obey Miss Hall.

A wave of uneasiness washed over him. Why was he being summoned?

Miss Hall didn’t keep Justin wondering for long.

Closing the door behind him, she said, “Katherine needs a change of clothes. Is your mother attending the Ladies’ Aid Society meeting this morning?”

Justin nodded.

“I would like you to take Katherine to the church. Then come straight back. If for some reason your mother isn’t there, you will have to drive her home. You can use my buggy.”

“Yes, ma’am. But, Miss Hall . . .” Justin swallowed. “What’ll I tell the preacher’s wife when she asks me why I’m there?”

“I’ll write a note for you to give Mrs. Morris, and she can fetch your mother,” Miss Hall said, smiling.

Sighing, but only to himself, Justin nodded again. “Yes, ma’am.”

He wished he was back at his desk reading about the ancient Romans. All they had to worry about was getting trampled in a chariot race or surviving the arena. Life was a lot less dangerous back then.

Probably not one of the Romans ever had to walk a damp little girl down the main street of town looking for her mother.

He blushed.

By the time Miss Hall returned to the cloakroom with the note, Justin had calmed himself. Feeling guilty for his unkind thoughts, he whispered to Kate, “Don’t cry. It could have happened to anybody.”

Kate refused to meet her big brother’s gaze. She sat slumped on the bench, chin resting in her hands, and didn’t answer.

Justin sighed and reached for her hand.

All the way down the school steps and along the long, main street of Millerton, Justin felt awkward. Sister or not, he would never hear the end of this from his school chums. Every boy in class would figure out what he was up to—

Playing nursemaid to the hiccupping little girl holding his hand.

Justin searched his mind for some cheerful words, but all that came out was, “Don’t worry, Kate. Chad and I will take care of that mean-mouthed Freddy Stone. I promise.”

He took a deep breath. “Only, we can’t do it at school.”

I sure hope Chad remembers, Justin added silently.

Kate’s lip puckered as she looked up at him. “Will you really?” Hope filled her voice. Then she sagged. “Father will tan your hides if you do.”

“Probably,” Justin agreed. He squeezed her hand and gave her a lopsided grin. “But this is a matter of family honor.”

Kate ducked her head. “Do you s’pose Mother will make me go back to school?” Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks. “I can’t. Everybody will laugh at me.”

Weary of this whole business, yet knowing it was a real possibility, Justin yanked a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. “Don’t worry about that.”

“But what if they do?”

“Well, then . . .” Justin made a funny, fierce face at her. “I’ll line them up next to Freddy and punch every last boy—or even a girl—who laughs at you.”

Kate gave him a watery smile.

Justin squeezed her hand and promised to buy her a peppermint stick when school let out this afternoon. “But only if you’re brave enough to come back to school after Mother finds you fresh clothes,” he said.

“I will,” Kate promised.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Morris answered the back door of the church. The town’s ladies gathered there every Monday morning to talk about aiding the needy.

Well, Justin thought as he handed her the note, nobody’s in greater need this morning than Katherine Carter.

The preacher’s wife scanned the note and clucked her tongue in understanding. “Thank you,” she told Justin. “I’ll see to it that Katherine finds your mother. You may return to school.”

Justin shuffled uneasily from foot to foot. “Yes, ma’am.” He shot a look at his sister, suddenly unwilling to leave her alone. “Are you going to be all right?”

Kate nodded. Then she grabbed Justin’s sleeve and pulled him close. “Don’t forget about the peppermint stick.”

“I won’t. Right after school.” He tugged one of her dark braids and hurried off.

Justin didn’t realize he’d been sweating until he was halfway back to school. He rubbed his damp forehead and let out a breath.

I’m sure glad that’s over and done with, he told himself.

He slipped into the schoolhouse and into his seat. In no time he was absorbed in his history lesson.

When Mother brought Kate by an hour later, Miss Hall smiled. So did Justin.

Kate was dressed in a new, pink-and-white-striped dress from Robertson’s general store. She looked pretty as a new filly. The rest of the class appeared to be deep in study.

No one said a word when Kate sat down.

 Justin sighed in relief and cracked open his spelling book. The teacher must have warned the class there would be no shenanigans over Kate’s return.

He had memorized half a dozen words when Walter Martin, who sat in front of him, turned around and slipped a folded scrap of paper onto his desk.

Justin opened it and stared at the crude drawing of a stick-figure girl with a puddle—

His face burned. Freddy had drawn this horrible picture and no doubt passed it to Chad. Justin was sure of it.

Just below the picture he read Chad’s scrawl. I’ll get Freddy for this on Sunday. Are you with me?

Taking up his pencil, Justin wrote with large, dark strokes: YES.

Then he passed the note over Walter’s shoulder and back to Chad.

For the family honor. For justice.

For Kate.

 

 

Chapter Three

 

There was no need to speak their plans out loud. Justin and Chad understood each other perfectly. They sat as still as statues during breakfast Sunday morning at breakfast while Mother gave her family the usual talk about Circle C hospitality toward guests.

     “Make sure you are welcoming to Freddy and his family,” Mother said, smiling.

“Yes, ma’am,” Justin, Chad, Kate, and little Mitch chorused.

“They will arrive right after church.” Mother looked at Chad. “There will be no horseback riding this afternoon, Son,” she warned. “Remember what happened the last time we entertained guests?”

“Yes, Mother, I remember,” Chad said.

Justin remembered too. Loading five children onto Pal’s back had seemed like a good idea at first, but when four of them tumbled off and went screaming into the house, their plan had turned sour.

After breakfast, the Carter family climbed into the surrey for church.

Scrubbed and dressed in their Sunday best, the brothers made it through the service and the ride home without mishap.

“What’s come over you boys?” Father asked when the carriage pulled into the yard. “I’ve never seen you so quiet and agreeable.”

He chuckled. “Especially you, Chad. You let Mrs. Drake hug you today without making your usual fuss.”

“Nothing, Father,” Chad said.

Justin didn’t miss the catch in his brother’s voice. Guilty conscience? Or worrying about the consequences?

Maybe this Carter-style justice against Freddy wasn’t such a good idea.

Just before the Stone family arrived, Justin pulled Chad aside. “You know we’ll get our backsides warmed if we go through with this.”

“It’s worth it to teach Freddy some manners.” Chad crossed his arms. “You gonna tell Father?”

Justin remembered his promise to Kate and shook his head. “Just make sure you don’t start the fight. Otherwise, I can’t defend you.”

Chad threw his arms up and laughed. “Don’t worry. We can count on Freddy to start whatever we need.”

Freddy obliged them within the first hour of his family’s visit.

No sooner had dinner been cleared away and the children sent outside to play than Freddy began his teasing. The sissy boy, who was dressed in dark-purple velvet knickers and a silk shirt, had been polite only long enough to impress the grown-ups.

He whipped out his leg and tripped Mitch before they left the back porch.

Mitch jumped up and clenched his fists. “You did that on purpose!”

“Nah,” Freddy said. “You got in the way of my leg.”

He brushed Mitch aside and headed across the yard, where a rope swing hung from a large oak tree. He climbed on the swing and pushed himself off.

“I made up a limerick the other day,” he said. “Want to hear it?”

“No,” Justin, Chad, and Kate said together.

“No,” Mitch echoed.

As the swing flew in a wide arc, Freddy chanted,

 

“There once was a girlie named Kate,

Who was too much of a baby to wait.

She piddled one day in a quite shameful way,

Then came back to our class very late.”

 

He laughed. “Don’t you think it’s funny? Mama says I have a gift for verse.”

Justin scowled darkly. “You have the gift of a dirty mouth.” He glanced at Kate.

Her blue eyes had turned wide and horrified. Two spots of red colored her cheeks.

“Here’s another one,” Freddy went on. “One day when I went to the—”

Smack!

Chad’s fingers caught the rope swing.

Freddy flew from the swing and landed on the ground.

“Oops,” Chad apologized.

The boy leaped up and flew at Chad. “I’ll get you for that!” He slammed into him.

“Like fun you will!” Chad knocked Freddy to the ground and sat on him.

“Augh!” Freddy hollered. “Stop! Get off me, you—”

His words came out fast and furious. Most were words that the Carter children would have their mouths washed out with soap for saying.

Chad didn’t have any soap, so he used the next-best thing. He scooped up a handful of dirt and plunged it into Freddy’s shrieking mouth. “You like to talk mean and dirty? Let’s see how much you can say through a mouthful of real dirt.”

Freddy sputtered and gagged.

Chad stood up. Then he yanked Freddy to his feet and dragged the choking, blubbering boy to the horse trough several yards away. One big push landed Freddy in the trough.

Splash! His cries were instantly cut off. Chad held him inside the livestock water trough while Justin pumped the handle.

Water gushed over Freddy’s head. He spit and gagged some more. Then he threw up the mud in his mouth and throat.

“If you ever talk that way about our sister or any other girl again, I’ll give you worse,” Chad promised.

He leaned over the soggy heap of velvet and silk and grabbed a fistful of curly hair. “That goes for inside the classroom and in the schoolyard too. You hear me?”

Freddy nodded. Tears and dirty water mixed and ran down his face. “B-but my m-mama will see to it that you get p-punished,” he stammered.

Chad turned his back on Freddy and headed for the house. “I don’t care.”

Later, when the commotion died down and the Stone family went home, Father dragged Justin and Chad into the library. He lined them up in front of his desk.

Justin hoped for a tongue-lashing only, but he doubted they’d get off so easily. Freddy had looked a sorry mess when Father fished him out of the horse trough and offered apologies to his hysterical mama.

Mother had looked horrified at her sons’ lack of hospitality.

“Who did it?” Father drummed his fingers on the desktop and waited.

Justin and Chad exchanged grim looks. Neither boy spoke.

“I’m waiting,” Father said quietly.

Justin knew Father could outwait either of them. He nudged Chad.

Chad shrugged. “I did, sir.”

Father sighed. “I’m not surprised.” He rounded on Justin. “You’re the oldest. You didn’t think to stop your hotheaded brother?”

Justin shook his head. “No, Father. But let me explain. You see, it was a matter of honor . . .”

Ten minutes later, Chad and Father were staring at Justin. In words he hardly knew he had in him, Justin defended his brother’s actions with his reasons for pouncing on Freddy.

“So you see, Father,” he finished, “Chad had no choice. He shouldn’t be punished this time. Neither should I. It was just. I believe Freddy has learned a very important lesson in manners.” He gave his father a pleading look. “I can bring Kate in as a witness if you like.”

Father’s face lightened. He smiled. Then he laughed. “That won’t be necessary, Son. I’ve never heard a defense quite like that one, but you’ve convinced me.”

He clapped a hand on Justin’s shoulder. “Have you ever considered becoming a lawyer when you grow up?”

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