Sowing Poison by Janet Kellough

willing to do whatever work needs to be done, but I’m useless in the kitchen and you’re not much better.”
    Daniel wrinkled his brow. “I hadn’t counted on having to hire help. I thought we could do it ourselves.”
    â€œWe could if we hadn’t lost Susannah, but if we keep on at this pace we’ll lose Betsy, too, and then it’ll just be you and me trying to cope. I think you should hire someone before that happens.”
    He knew that Daniel was worried about what it would cost, but he truly could not see an alternative.
    â€œLook, the people who came here over the last couple of days came because of Mrs. Elliott. There’s apt to be even more tomorrow. That’s more business than you’ve seen in the last six months. Take a little of the money and hire some help.”
    â€œI guess you’re right,” Daniel grumbled. “I just don’t know if we can find anyone suitable. There’s not many will come to a hotel to work.”
    The problem, Lewis knew, was that too many of the families in Wellington were Quakers. No Quaker girl would wait on tables, and this severely limited the pool of available help. The Society of Friends were a sober and industrious lot, but they made peculiar distinctions when it came to working for others. An honest exchange of labour for wages was acceptable; anything that implied that they were subservient in any way was firmly declined. It was something the better class of English immigrants had complained of bitterly in the past, for this Quaker attitude had spread to others who, had they been in England, would have been little more than scullery maids and happy enough to tug their forelocks to their self-proclaimed betters. Here, the attitude of hirelings was summed up in the one word: help . It was no disgrace to move in with a family and “help,” but the help expected to be spoken to civilly and to sit at the same dinner table as her employers. And no girl of good family, Quaker or not, would ever be allowed to work at an inn that had a tavern; but surely an inn that boasted temperance in its name might be more acceptable?
    Susannah, who was well aware of just exactly how much work was entailed in looking after so many guests, readily agreed that some help was required. “I don’t know of anyone offhand,” she said, “but I do know who might. Go talk to the Scully girl. She seems to know everything about everybody, including half the things they don’t know themselves. Surely she’ll be able to think of somebody who would be willing to work for us.”
    Lewis knew that if he left it to Daniel the conversation would never take place, so the next morning he set off for Scully’s store.
    â€œYou’re Mr. Lewis, are you not?” Scully asked as he entered the shop. “You’re over at the Temperance with your sister, isn’t that right?” Lewis nodded his agreement. “What could we do for you today, sir? I can only hope that you’re so busy over at the hotel that you’ve worn out the linen already and are looking for more.”
    â€œIt’s not the linen that’s worn out, it’s me,” Lewis said. “I expect you know that my sister broke her leg. What you may not know is that my wife is not well either. That leaves me and my brother-in-law to manage things … and we’re not doing a very good job of it, I’m afraid.”
    â€œOh, dear, that does sound dire,” Scully said, “but how can we help you?”
    â€œI was wondering if I might speak with your daughter. I’ve been told that she tends to have a finger on the pulse of the village, and that she might be able to point me in the direction of some industrious person who could take up some of the slack.”
    He had rehearsed his very diplomatic statement, not wanting to imply that Meribeth Scully was a busybody, although as far as he could ascertain, that was exactly