by Jaclyn Hardy
“You were busy chopping wood, so I figured I would just do it.” Charlotte leaned into his kiss on her cheek. “I looked through your pantry. You have no spices, very little flour, and no sugar.”
“I haven’t needed anything for bread lately, because my hunting has been successful.”
Charlotte put a hand on her waist. “You can’t just have meat every day. You need bread and vegetables.”
Joshua pushed off the counter. “Follow me.”
Charlotte sighed and followed him outside. The light breeze felt wonderful on her skin after hauling all of the water. Joshua led her to the back of the house and lifted a board off the ground to reveal a large hole with rickety stairs. He leaned the board against the house and climbed down inside the hole, then turned around and looked up at her expectantly.
“Well?”
“You want me to go down there?” Charlotte pictured giant spiders and possibly snakes down inside.
Joshua nodded. “You have to, or you won’t see what I want to show you.”
Charlotte hesitated, then leaned against the house so she could pull off her shoes. She wasn’t about to walk down those steps with shoes. Even though she found a more sensible pair in her bags, they were still hard to walk in.
There were only a handful of things that Charlotte was afraid of, and she was facing two of them right now. The dark, and confined spaces. The dirt was cold on Charlotte’s bare feet as she took one step at a time. She grabbed onto Joshua’s hand and held tight as she reached the bottom. Her breath caught as her eyes adjusted to the dark.
Joshua had braced the hole with wood so it wouldn’t collapse and added shelves along one side of what appeared to be a cellar. Most of the shelves were empty, but there was a bag of potatoes on the ground, along with a few other vegetables.
“I don’t eat only meat. But these are all hard to come by, so I try to eat them sparingly.”
“We’ll need to grow some then.” Charlotte’s mind spun with ideas for meals using the vegetables she had available down here. “What month is it again?”
Joshua laughed. “Why would you ask that?”
She shrugged. “I lost track on my way over here on the stagecoach. Some days felt like they’d last forever, and other days flew.”
She crouched down and picked up a few of the potatoes to use. She could fry some of them for breakfast.
“Those stagecoach rides can feel like they last forever. It’s June.” Joshua took the potatoes from her. “You go first, and then I’ll bring these up. I need to close it up anyway.”
Charlotte climbed up the stairs, trying to remember when they planted crops back home. Some of the farmers had already begun when she left, but others were still preparing the land. She stared at the land around her while she put on her shoes, trying to decide the best place for a garden.
“Charlotte?”
She blinked and looked up at Joshua. “Sorry, I got distracted. Is there a place we could buy seeds? I’d like to plant a garden.”
“I’ll see if our grocer has any right now. We do have these potatoes you can plant.”
“Thank you.” She had no idea how to plant them, but at least it was something.
She washed the potatoes in a bucket of water outside, then took them into the small kitchen and set them on the table. The knife she used was rather dull, but she managed to get the potatoes cut and into a pan on the stove.
The stove was warm from the kindling Joshua put in that morning, but it wasn’t going to cook anything at that temperature. She found the pile of wood nearby and looked for small pieces to put into the stove.
Except she couldn’t figure out where it went. Charlotte bit her lip as she searched for the door Joshua used earlier that morning. It was in the front . . . there. She pulled the small lever and it opened. Red hot coals put off heat, so Charlotte aimed for them as she slid the wood inside. When they didn’t immediately catch on fire, Charlotte added another piece, and then grabbed some nearby parchment. Hopefully Joshua didn’t need it for something. Finally, the fire engulfed the wood, the heat radiating out into Charlotte’s face. She quickly closed it and straightened. Okay, that was done.
Charlotte picked out a frying pan off the wall and set it on the stove. There was no oil nearby, so she went to find Joshua. She finally found him in the backyard milking a black and white cow. Charlotte lifted her skirts and stepped off the porch so she could move easier around the sage brush. “She’s beautiful.”
“Betsy here has been the lady in my life until you came along.” Joshua laughed and stood. “I got her from a neighbor when she stopped producing the amount of milk they needed. And since I’m here alone, I traded for her.”
“Sounds like it was a good trade.” Charlotte placed a hand on Betsy’s side. “You’ll have to teach me how to milk her sometime. That way you can do the other work around here.”
Joshua picked up the bucket of milk. “I can teach you tonight. Thank you.”
“I was going to make potatoes, but I couldn’t find the butter or oil for the pan.” Charlotte coughed as soon as Joshua opened the door. Smoke poured out the door.
Joshua strode over to the stove and used a towel to move the pan. “Open the windows so we can clear the house faster.”
Charlotte fought back tears as she ran to the window and pulled it open, then went back the kitchen. “What did I do wrong?”
“It looks like you used too much kindling. You only need a few pieces of wood. And you need some lard for the pan.” Joshua set the pan back on the stove and grabbed a block from one of the cupboards. He cut a chunk off and dropped it into the pan where it sizzled and popped. “There you go. I’ve been using Betsy’s milk to drink, but we can use it to make butter if you’d like that instead.”
Charlotte slid the potatoes into the pan and stirred them. “Butter would be lovely. We could also make cheese or cottage cheese. Or ice cream.”
Joshua nodded. “Or ice cream. I haven’t had any for months, at least.”
Charlotte stirred the potatoes while her mouth watered for the ice cream her cook used to make. “Oh, it looks like they’re ready.”
The potatoes were brown with small black flecks. Some of them had burnt to the bottom, but Charlotte was just happy she managed to do something right. If she didn’t show she could do stuff around the house, Joshua was going to start regretting that she was here.
Joshua took two plates out of the cupboard and held them so she could dish the food onto them. She found forks and cups before joining him at the table.
He took a bite and chewed for a moment. “These are delicious. I think they could use some salt and pepper, but I still like them.”
“I didn’t know where your spices were, or I would have added them.” She took a bite of hers. He was right. They needed salt.
“They’re in the pantry, but we may need to buy some more.” Joshua leaned his arms on the table. “We should go into town this morning. That way we can get our papers and supplies and then get back to work on clearing more land before the afternoon storms hit.”
Charlotte nodded. “All right. I will freshen up as soon as breakfast is over and then we can go.”
Once the dishes were cleared and washed, Charlotte dried her hands and went into the bedroom. The dress she had on was okay for around the house, but she needed something nicer for town. She found a green gown near the bottom of her bags that she hadn’t worn yet. It was wrinkled, but it would do.
“Need some help?” Joshua stood at the door, an amused look on his face.
“Um, yes. I can’t get it tightened.” Charlotte’s face burned as Joshua pulled on the ribbons, his fingers caressing her skin.
He ran his hands down her arms, then bent in and kissed her neck. “You look beautiful in this color.”
Charlotte turned and straightened the collar on his shirt, then stepped back. “And you look very handsome. Although you have a few holes in the elbows here. We should get you a new shirt today.”
&
nbsp; “I forgot about those. A windstorm came up a few weeks ago and I had to fix the roof before I had a chance to change out of my church clothes.” Joshua frowned. “I don’t think we can afford a new shirt at this time.”
Charlotte shrugged and unbuttoned the wrists of his shirt, then rolled up the sleeves. “There. Much better. No one will even know the holes are there.”
Joshua checked her handiwork. “I like this. But it won’t be appropriate if we do go somewhere nice. We’ll get some thread so you can sew it.”
Sewing? That was not one of the things Charlotte had picked up over the years. But it was something she would need to learn very quickly. “I can do that for you.”
“For now, we’d better leave.” Joshua left the room and grabbed a few bags and took them out to the cart.
Charlotte pulled a brush out of her bag and brushed out the knots in her hair, then pulled it back and fastened the pins. Some of the strands fell out, but it would do for now. She had no purse and no money so she left the house, making a mental note of what needed to be bought in town.
The breeze from that morning had picked up, blowing Charlotte’s hair into her face. Joshua climbed up onto the cart and then helped her up. This time instead of one horse, there were two side-by-side.
“I need to do some trading, so I wanted to make sure we don’t weigh the cart down too much for Louie.”
“Louie’s your horse?” Charlotte brushed her hair out of her face and moved the pins so they would hold some of the wild hair down.
Joshua clicked his tongue and the horses turned toward the road. “Louie has been my horse since I was young. I just got Minnie a few months ago in an auction, around the same time I got Betsy. She was skinny and ill so no one else wanted her. All I needed to do was feed her a few extra meals, and now she’s just as strong as Louie.”
Charlotte frowned. “Was she sick, or did they just not feed her?”
“Sometimes it’s a little of both. Feed is scarce unless we have a good wheat year, and it’s been a little slow. It’s possible she ate something she wasn’t supposed to, which made her sick.”
“That’s terrible.” Charlotte grabbed his arm as they went over a bump. “Sorry.”
Joshua placed his hand over hers. “Leave it. There are a lot more bumps between here and town.”
Charlotte smiled. “It seems that way.”
“So, what is it like in the east?” Joshua held to the reins as the horses turned down another road.
Charlotte paused. “It’s nice. Busy. Everyone is always in a hurry to get where they’re going.”
Joshua shook his head. “That’s a shame. Why live like that when you could come to the west and have all of this open space?”
“That’s a good question.” Charlotte braced herself as they went around another corner. The rocks beneath the wheels made it difficult to talk about anything else. When it went on for another fifteen minutes or so, Charlotte leaned toward Joshua. “Is the road supposed to be like this?”
“It was smoother, but the rains and hard winter washed away the dirt and left the stones. We’re almost out of it. Town is just up ahead, and those roads are nice.”
Charlotte sighed and held tight to his arm so she wouldn’t bounce off the wagon. The transition to the nicer road came suddenly and Charlotte relaxed her grip. Businesses lined the streets, and small homes stood off in the distance.
“There aren’t many women or children here.” Charlotte nodded to a young family who passed going the other direction.
“Many of the men came ahead to set up their homes, but there are many who are single. They were offered money to go, so they jumped at the chance.” Joshua paused. “That’s the biggest reason I answered the ad.”
Charlotte nodded. She knew this from what Father and Naomi had told her, but it was still a shock to see so many men and so few women. What a lonely way to live.
They stopped at a general store and Joshua helped her down. “We’re going to see what they have first and then we’ll decide what we need. I wish I could buy everything right now, but we have to be careful.”
“That’s fine.” Charlotte was just dying to see what the general store looked like.
It was much like the ones she knew from back home, but much smaller. Lines of fabric sat to one side, barrels of food sat in another corner, and oh, the candy selection. Charlotte let Joshua go to the front to talk to the clerk while she wandered through the store. She was sorting through the hard candies when Joshua finally found her.
“Find anything you like?” he asked.
“I think I’d love the lemon drops, and probably the sarsaparilla, maybe . . .” She trailed off. “You didn’t mean the candy, did you?”
Joshua chuckled. “No, I was talking about food or other items.”
Charlotte pulled her hand out of the dish and cleared her throat. “Sorry. I got distracted. You told me you wouldn’t know what we can get until we got here, so I was waiting for you.”
“I was able to trade a few things for store credit, so you give them our order, and I will be back to pay for it. I need to go next door to look at a saddle for Minnie and do some more trading.”
“All right.” She went to the front and waited her turn like everyone else. When she got to the front, the clerk held out his hand. “Um, I don’t have a list. But I can tell you what we need.”
The clerk sighed and pulled out a paper. “Make sure to tell me what you need and how much.”
Maybe her mental notes at home should have actually been written down. “Let’s see. We need five pounds of flour, two pounds of sugar—wait, let’s make that three. And I think we need about half a pound of salt and pepper. Oh, and herbs. Do you have basil? Marjoram? Thyme?”
“Yes, we have those, but they’re hard to come by, which drives up the price. Perhaps you should wait and ask your husband if it’s all right to buy them.” The clerk smiled and held his pen at the ready.
Charlotte blinked. Did he really just tell her to ask her husband? “I’d like some of the basil. Maybe a few ounces because it goes a long way.”
“I’ll put that down, but wait until Joshua comes back to get it.”
“He told me to get what we needed. That’s what we need. Write it down. And while you’re at it, I would also like rosemary. And thyme.”
The clerk opened his mouth to argue again, but Joshua stepped up next to Charlotte, putting an arm on her elbow. “Is there a problem?”
“This man thinks that I shouldn’t have these herbs.” Charlotte glared at the clerk.
Joshua picked up the list and scanned it, then set it back down. “Let her get the herbs. And let’s add a few pounds of pinto beans, some needles and black thread, and some of the blue fabric in the back. I think five yards ought to work.”
The man sputtered. “The trade was for half of this. You can’t afford the rest.”
Joshua set a bag of coins on the counter. “I can. Charlotte, go find some gloves to go with your dress.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. “O—okay.”
The two men were still staring at each other as she walked to the back of the store. She picked up a pair of satin gloves. They were soft to the touch, but she wasn’t sure she liked how warm they were.
“I wouldn’t pick those if I were you.”
Charlotte turned to find a young woman about her age with ringlets in her hair and a fine purple dress. From her accent she had to be from England.
“I wasn’t sure I liked them anyway.” Charlotte leaned closer. “I have no idea what I’m looking for. Usually I have others shop for me or they make them.”
The woman’s laugh was melodic. “I caught that. Here, try these. They’re a light leather and they are comfortable.”
Charlotte cringed at the thought of where the leather came from, but had to admit they were much nicer. “Thank you.”
“You’re most welcome.” The girl held out a hand. “My name is Eleanor. And if the rumor is true, congratulations are in ord
er for your marriage.”
“Rumors?” Charlotte’s face burned. “I guess something like this would get around. Yes, we were married yesterday. And I’m Charlotte, by the way.”
Eleanor beamed. “It’s wonderful to have another woman in town. There are so few of us.”
“I noticed.” Charlotte sighed as she looked at the hats and shoes. “I’ll never get used to this.”
“Nonsense. You’ll be cooking and sewing like the rest of us within a few weeks. Just be patient.”
“Today I managed to fill the entire house with smoke because I added too much firewood to the stove.” Charlotte moved to the men’s shirts. If she could find one cheap enough, maybe she could get it for him.
Eleanor laughed as she sorted through the shirts. “The first time I tried to cook for Edmond, I burned it so badly that we had to buy a new pan.”
“Oh dear.” Charlotte held up a white shirt. It looked like the right size for him, and the price was fairly reasonable. She spotted Joshua coming toward them. “Oh, it looks like I’d better go. It was very nice to meet you.”
“Hopefully we’ll see each other again soon.” Eleanor waved and turned away to look at the gloves. “Maybe I can help teach you to cook a few dishes.”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you.” Charlotte turned to Joshua and handed him the gloves she liked.
Joshua took the gloves from Charlotte. “These are nice. Are they the ones you want?”
“Yes, if that’s all right with you.”
He nodded. “They’re beautiful.”
“And I found this for you.” She held up the shirt. “You can wear it until I fix the other one.”
“Thank you. This will do nicely.” Joshua nodded to Eleanor. “Hello, Eleanor. How is Edmond doing?”
Eleanor smiled, showing a small dimple in her cheek. “He’s doing much better, thank you. The poultice you made helped immensely.”
“I’m glad. If you need another one made, let me know.”
“Thank you.”
Charlotte followed him up to the counter where the clerk was busy wrapping ingredients in brown paper. Joshua set the gloves with the rest of the supplies and waited for the clerk to ring up the purchase. Even after everything they’d bought, there was still a few coins left in the pouch. She was dying to find out where the money came from, but figured asking him in the middle of the store probably wouldn’t go over well.
