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Chapter 4
Carolyn: Curiouser and Curiouser
“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.”
– Malala Yousafzai
She waited until her father came in from the smithy and sat down to dinner before she spoke. “What was Lester here for? What did he want”
Jonathan reached for the salt. “Never you mind. You should be worrying more about what Burton wants.”
She poured water into his glass and hers, then sat down. “Dad, I've already told you I don't want to marry Burton Tolbert. Why was Lester here? Does he need something for the Inn?”
“Just some pipe. That's all. Pass the potatoes.”
Why would Gerrold need pipe? “Is the inn doing that well, then, that Gerrold can afford pipe? I know it's not cheap.”
“It's none of our business,” he said, mashing a potato and spooning his soup over it. “Besides, unless I'm wrong he'll be heading back up to Denver soon. If I were you I'd be forgetting about him.”
He's hiding something, she decided. “What makes you so sure about that? Inverness is his home as much as it is ours. Why wouldn't he stay...especially with the holidays coming up?”
“It looks to me,” her father said, “that Lester's found himself a government job up in Denver. He's got things to do up at the capital, I think.”
“What makes you think that?”
“The gray cloak he's wearing. Seen one before, just like it. Fellow named...what was his name? Anyway, the last man I saw wearing something like that worked for the Governor.”
She absorbed that in wonder. Lester, working for the Governor? Maybe stranger things had happened. Still there was something her father was not telling her, she was sure of it. “Are you finished for the day, or do you need me to work the bellows after dinner?”
“No more work tonight,” he said. “You can get back to your sewing.”
“Actually,” she said, as if it had just occurred to her,” If you don't need me I think I'll head over to the inn and see if Mary needs any spices. “
He said nothing to this. What was there to be said? She was a grown woman, not a toddler to be kept in.
“Don't forget your coat,” he said finally.
There was definitely something on his mind. She had never seen him this quiet at dinner. Well, maybe for a while after her mother passed away. But not since then. Jonathan was always full of news and gossip. It wasn't like him to be so silent. Almost morose.
Chapter 5
Nathan: Strange Things