A Hope Beyond by Judith Pella Read Free Book Online

running of a railroad?”
    James chuckled. “There aren’t many with enough experience to prove that point. The business is in its infancy, so you can hardly fault a man for a lack of experience.”
    “I suppose only time will tell as to his devotion and dedication to the B&O. And, in all honesty, I must say that I’ve never yet known anyone, including Mr. Daniel Webster, who possessed in the same degree the faculty of stating a case more clearly than McLane.”
    “Then we must give him a chance,” James replied. “Just as he must give us a chance, eh?”
    “Yes, I quite agree.”
    “Mr. Latrobe, might we impose upon you?” a gray-haired gentleman questioned from behind James.
    “I will speak with you later, Mr. Baldwin,” Latrobe said with a bow. “Merry Christmas to you, and my best wishes to your family.”
    James was relieved to find several board members drawing Latrobe away for a discussion on some matter of great importance. The reminder of Christmas only made him feel more discouraged than he was before. Family seemed so very far away. His uncle Samuel Baldwin lived not six blocks away, and yet James couldn’t bring himself to even venture that far. No doubt his father would have written his only brother to say that James had turned out to be a terrible failure and disappointment as a son.
    Slipping away from the board meeting, James walked out into the chilled Baltimore afternoon. A light dusting of snow covered the ground, and the heavy smell of the sea assaulted his nose. During the two and a half months he’d spent in Baltimore, James had found little to attach himself to. The small boardinghouse in which he’d secured modest accommodations was run by an elderly man who had nothing good to say about anyone. The man’s only daughter had run off the year before with one of the boarders, leaving her father to fend for himself. In turn, the man had a very low opinion of his renters but tolerated them for the sake of the coin it put into his hand each week.
    Shoving his hands deeper into his coat pockets, James could not abide the longing in his soul. He continued down Pratt Street, making his way deeper into the city. Several hacks slowed as they approached him, but he waved them off, thinking to save as much of his money as possible. Money was not a commodity he had in abundance. And it was money that stood as the foundation to all of his miseries.
    Had it truly only been last year that he’d returned from college a happy man? His father had insisted James join him in banking, but the railroad was already in his blood, and for once in this life, James had made a firm stand to pursue his interest. But it had come at a price. His father insisted he marry, and marry wealthy. It seemed the family coffers had run dry, and James was the last hope for replenishing what had been lost on improper investments and unchecked spending.
    He thought of Virginia Adams, young, beautiful, and well accomplished. She had been the chosen one. The one his mother saw as fitting perfectly into Washington’s social circles. And to his father she depicted a fleshly representation of financial redemption. The only thing wrong was that James didn’t love her and knew he never would. Not only had he grown weary of her contentious nature, but he saw clearly that she would never abide his work on the railroad, work which would take him away from her precious social circle. These things would have been reason enough, even if he hadn’t fallen in love with her sister.
    He could well imagine his father’s rage upon learning that his son had ducked out of the imposed engagement. James had carefully given the task of breaking the engagement to Virginia in order to keep her from shame. But to his parents, he’d honestly put to paper the deepest, most inner longings and turmoil of his heart—well, at least most of them. He’d spoken frankly of believing marriage to be a sacred institution, and as such, he could not go into it