Chapter IV

Chapter IV
The answers to her questions were provided the next morning.
“Maria, come here please,” her mother said gently. “I need you to help me take Mathieu to Gertie’s. She will watch him while we go out and…work. ”
“What kind of work?”
“The kind that will get us money.”
“Where are poor women like us going to get work? Oh, no… No, no, no…”
“Maria! Do you really think that I’d do something as disreputable as that? Or to you? I’m ashamed.”
“Well, then what? If I’m going to be the one doing the work, I want to know what I’m going to be doing!”
“You’ll see.” They walked for another five minutes, Maria holding Mathieu and their wicker basket, Linnea holding Maria’s younger sister, Elaine, with one hand and their tattered suitcase in the other, until Maria realized what was odd.
“Mother, why are we taking Elaine and the luggage if we’re dropping off Mathieu at Aunt Gertrude’s and going to work? Why do we need the luggage mostly.”
“We might be staying at Gertie’s for a while, seeing as soldiers are looking for us, I thought it would be safest.”
Not altogether reassured, Maria followed her mother to Gertrude’s.