by Lucy Evanson
Kate pulled on her nightgown and sat down for Becky to attend to her hair. She watched in the mirror as Becky carefully pulled out the hairpins and let Kate’s hair fall down to her shoulders.
“Well, just shows what I know,” Kate said. “For some reason I always thought that the two of you would make a cute couple.”
Becky laughed again, more softly this time, as she lifted a length of Kate’s hair and began to brush. “No, I never felt anything like that for Sam,” she said. “And I’m sure he doesn’t like me in that way. That I know for a fact.” She paused in her brushing and threw Kate a quick smile in the mirror. “But I know who he does like,” she added, pulling up another length of hair.
“Really?” Kate turned to look directly at Becky. “And who is that?”
Becky’s cheeks flushed again. “Well, maybe I shouldn’t say. Truth be told, he’s never said anything to me about it. I can just tell, though.”
“Well, now you have to tell me,” Kate said. “You can’t just say something like that and then leave me in suspense.”
Becky stared at the floor. “Miss Taylor, he likes you,” she mumbled, almost too quietly to hear.
It was as if a wall had suddenly tumbled down, revealing a landscape that Kate had never seen before. “Can that really be true?” she whispered.
“Please don’t say anything to Sam, Miss Taylor,” Becky said, abandoning the brushing and leaping in front of the chair to look Kate in the face. “He never said anything to me. I’m probably wrong about the whole thing. I don’t want him to think I’m going around telling stories about him.”
Kate reached out and squeezed Becky’s hand. “Don’t worry. This is just between us.”
“And I don’t mean any disrespect to you or Mr. Carter, of course.” Becky picked up the brush and quickly got back to work.
“Don’t worry about it. I think that’s enough for tonight, Becky,” she said, extending her hand for the brush.
Becky handed it to her and departed without saying another word. Once she was alone, Kate went to the closet and found her robe; the night had taken on quite a chill, and she wrapped it tightly around her as she returned to her seat in front of the mirror.
She couldn’t help but think about what Becky had told her. She usually liked to spend these last few minutes every night thinking about Edward, recreating his face in her mind, thinking about the pleasure of his touch, remembering his kisses upon her lips and imagining how nice it would be to have him warm her bed. Tonight, however, her mind refused to stay focused. Every time she tried to imagine Edward’s hands running over her, or his lips leaving a trail of kisses that started at her mouth and led down below, Sam intruded and pushed Edward out of her thoughts.
Well, of course you can’t help thinking about Sam too, she thought. He’s lean, strong, and handsome…almost exotic, in fact. It’s only natural to feel some attraction. It’s human. Still, I’ve already found the man for me, and that’s Edward.
She finished brushing her hair and stared at herself in the mirror. You sound like you’re trying to talk yourself into it, a dark voice in the back of her mind whispered.
Chapter 8
The next weeks passed maddeningly slowly. The placid life she had on the farm was full of the sort of pursuits that she’d always wanted to do back in Boston, but had never had enough time for. Now, however, she could spend hours reading in the parlor. She passed whole afternoons on the porch, writing poetry. She even accompanied her brothers to the creek, where they would fish and trap crawdads while she sat in the shade of the aspen and sketched the countryside.
“What’s that, a box?” Jake asked, pointing over her shoulder at the tablet.
“No, that’s not a box. That’s the cornfield. Don’t you see the rows? The tiny ears of corn?” she said, holding the paper up higher for him to see it more closely.
“Since when do we have a bull?”
“That’s not a bull,” she said. “That’s Sam, riding Racer.”
He studied the drawing closely for a moment. “Better not show it to Sam,” Jake said, turning to head back to the creek. “He’d take offense. And so would Racer.”
Kate snorted at him and looked down at her sketch. Now that he had mentioned it, Racer’s ears did look a bit like the horns of a bull. She was about to flip to a blank page and start again when she decided to close the sketch book instead. She leaned back against the tree and gazed out across the fields. There was a limit to the number of times she could sketch the same rolling hills, and she had reached it today.
At least this evening promised something different. Edward made every effort to see her as often as his work—and Kate’s father—would allow, and he had invited the family to a poetry recital tonight. In fact, I’d better get back to the house, she thought, getting up and brushing bits of dry grass off her dress.
“Kate, where are you going?” Mark called.
“I have to get ready,” she said. “We have the poetry reading tonight. Are you sure you don’t want to come? You boys could use some culture.”
“Here’s a poem for you right now. I wish, I wish, to catch a fish,” Jake said, dropping his line back in the water. “See, we’re cultured already.”
She waved to the boys and walked back to the house. By the time she had eaten, washed up and gotten dressed, Edward had arrived and was sitting in the dining room with her father, having a cup of tea.
“Katherine, you look wonderful,” Edward said, rising from his chair. “You’ll be the prettiest one there, that’s for certain.”
“Shall we go?” Thomas asked.
“Yes, it’s supposed to start at six,” Edward said, eyeing the clock. They moved into the hall, but before they’d reached the front door, Edward gently took Kate’s arm. “Tom, would you mind if I spoke to Katherine privately for a moment?”
“Go right ahead.” He stepped outside to wait on the porch as Kate and Edward went to the parlor. As soon as Kate closed the doors and turned to Carter, he swept her into his arms and kissed her. The boredom of the days without him, the ache of his absence, seemed to have suddenly vanished with the touch of his lips on hers.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she said. “Every minute apart has been like an eternity.”
“It’s been the same for me. These past few weeks have been wonderful,” he said. “I knew that you were a special woman, but I never could have guessed how I’d come to care for you so quickly.” He glanced behind to make sure that the parlor door was shut before he closed in for another kiss. His lips felt like they were scorching her flesh with delicious heat, and only her fear of being seen kept her from letting him continue. Kate slowly pushed him back a bit, reluctantly drawing her mouth away from his. She took his hand and led him to sit on the sofa.
“Edward, I feel the same way,” she said. “When you’re not here with me, the time just crawls by, and when we’re together it has wings. Even now I’m just dreading the end of the evening when you have to leave again.”
“I’m happy to hear you say that,” he said. “I have some news, by the way. My father sent word; he’s coming to visit next week. I’d like you to meet him.”
“That’s wonderful! Of course, I’d love to.”
“Good. I’m sure he’s anxious to meet his future daughter-in-law.”
“What?!”
A half-smile crossed Edward’s lips as he reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a small, square box.
Kate felt her heart leap into her throat as he got down on one knee. “Edward, what are you doing?”
“Katherine, I want you to be my bride,” he said. “Marry me.”
It felt like the room was spinning, and she clutched the arm of the sofa. “You can’t be serious. This is too soon,” she said. “You didn’t tell your father already, did you?”
“No, not yet, but I’m serious. I want us to get married,” he said. “And I wouldn’t say it’s too soon at all. In fact, I don’t see any reason to wait any longer.”
A cloud passed over Carter’s face, and he slowly got to his feet. “So you’re saying no?” he asked, looking down at her.
She extended her hand and he helped her up from her seat. “I’m not saying no,” she said. “But I’m not saying yes yet either. You need to give me more time.”
Carter’s sigh was no doubt as much for her as it was for him, and he ran his hand over his jaw as if trying to figure out what had gone wrong. “More time,” he said. “Very well. I’m not fond of waiting once I’ve made up my mind. But if you need more time, then take it, by all means.”
She squeezed his hand and kissed him quickly. “Thank you, Edward,” she said. “I knew you’d understand.”
He gave her a thin smile as they stepped outside to join her father. Thomas may not have noticed a chill between them, but Kate certainly did. Edward barely said a word on the ride to town, only answering in the briefest of replies when the others spoke to him. He made no effort to hide his boredom at the poetry recital, though she couldn’t blame him for that—as it turned out, the members of the Mineral Point Literary Society were probably better suited for reading poetry than writing it.
By the time they had returned to the house, it felt like a wall of ice had grown between them, and Kate had to almost literally twist Edward’s arm to get him to stay with her on the porch for a while, instead of leaping into his carriage and disappearing into the night.
She led him to the swing and they sat together, the chain softly squeaking as they slowly rocked back and forth.
“I know I disappointed you tonight,” she said, taking his hand into her lap. “I’m sorry.”
He sighed, then ran his hand over his eyes as if he were tired. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I just thought that you felt the same way about me as I do about you.”
“Oh, Edward,” she murmured. “Don’t ever doubt the way I feel about you.” She raised one hand to his cheek, turning his face until he was looking at her. “And remember, I didn’t turn you down,” she said. “I would be a very lucky woman to have you for my husband. I just need time to think.” She leaned over and kissed him, then laid her head against his shoulder.
The frost between them finally melted away as he put his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
“And I’ll be a lucky man,” he said quietly. He kissed her, then gently freed himself from her embrace. “But I should be going; it’s late.”
He helped her to her feet and she brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. “Is everything all right between us?” she asked.
“Never better,” he said. He hugged her again quickly, then turned and went down the porch steps. After climbing into his runabout, he waved to her, guided the horse onto the gravel path, and in only a couple of minutes had disappeared from sight.
~
The night’s events weighed heavily on Kate for quite some time, though every day it became a little easier to convince herself that she had made the right decision to wait. By the time a week passed, it was no longer even the first thing she thought of in the morning, but of course she had other things one her mind by then.
Kate walked out from the shade of the porch and down the steps. She had been cooped up in the house all day, overseeing the dinner preparations, trying to make sure that everything would be perfect for the arrival of Edward’s father. Now there was just enough time to get outside for some fresh air before she’d need to get ready.
The bright afternoon sun, however, was stronger than she’d anticipated, and she had only taken a few steps when she stopped to think a moment. It was silly to torture herself when she had a lovely, brand-new parasol just inside the house, but then again she’d given her word to Edward, and she was nothing if not a woman of her word. She kept walking.
She passed Sam’s cabin and was tempted to bring up a bucket of cold water from the well, but she decided to keep going and moved closer to the tree line in order to let the shade from the tall pines fall over her. When she reached the top of the hill, she was met with a strong breeze that cooled her off nicely and let her appreciate the view.
She wasn’t sure, exactly, just how big the farm was; she had never gone out with her father on his rides around the property, but as she looked out across the hills she could see no fences at all. The cornfields looked like a river of green, running down and spilling out onto the terrain below, only broken in places by islands of pine and aspen; as she watched, she saw a brown dot moving, like a leaf upon the water.
Racer. Soon he was close enough for her to see the wide smile on Sam’s face as he approached. She waved and he raised his hand in return, slowing the horse to a trot and halting as he reached the shady, grassy area alongside the tree line.
“Afternoon, Miss Taylor,” he said. “Nice view from up here, isn’t it?”
“I was just admiring it,” she said. “How have you been, Sam? It seems like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “I’ve been busy with a little project I’m working on.”
“What project is that? Hannah Thompson once told me that you were going to start your own business; is that it?”
“Oh, it’s pretty far from being a business just yet,” he said, and she could see his cheeks redden slightly. “It’s just something I’ve been working on for a while,” he said. “Say, before I forget, I wanted to thank you.” He swung one leg over and dropped down from Racer’s back.
“Thank me for what?”
“For what you’re doing with Becky,” he said. “I saw that she’s been practicing writing, and she told me that you’ve been teaching her.”
“Oh, that,” Kate said. “Well, I don’t know whether anything’s really going to come of it. I’m certainly not a real teacher.”
“It seems like she’s taking to it just fine,” Sam said. “You know, she’s had a difficult time growing up. If Bill hadn’t taken her in and given her a job…well, a girl like that could’ve gone down the wrong path, easy. You know what I’m saying?”
“I think I do,” Kate said. “But I had no idea.”
“Yeah, she got lucky. First Bill, now you,” he said. “She owes a lot to your family. Not everybody is as kind as you are.”
In spite of the cooling breeze flowing over the hilltop, Kate felt her cheeks begin to burn. “I don’t know about that,” she muttered, and her gaze dropped to the grass at her feet.
Sam climbed back onto his horse. “Well, anyway, thanks,” he said. “I know she appreciates it. I’ll let you get back to your walk now.”
“Sam, wait,” she said. “We’re having guests over for dinner this evening. I’d like you to join us.”
He turned Racer in a slow circle. “That’s nice of you to offer, but you probably had things all planned out already. I don’t want to cause any problems or anything.”
“It’s no problem besides pulling up another chair,” she said. “It’s just going to be us, the Thompsons, Edward and his father.”
Sam ran a hand over his scruffy chin. Dinner with Kate had sounded a lot nicer before she’d mentioned that Carter would be there. Still, even if they didn’t get to say a word to each other, just being in the same room with her would be enough. For now.
“In that case I’ll be happy to join you,” he said, and Kate rewarded him with an eye-twinkling smile. As he turned Racer back to the fields and got going at a trot, he tried to recall every detail about how she’d been standing there, from the wisp of hair that had escaped her ponytail and was lightly draped over her ear, to the sliver of pearl that was revealed as her lips parted in the smile, to the way she had clasped her hands together as if in anticipation. Soon he had stamped the image into his memory, every detail clear and precise, and he spent the rest of the afternoon studying that moment like a boy examining a newly minted coin.
~
She would have
recognized Edward’s father even if she had never been introduced to him. It was immediately obvious who Edward got his height, his hair and his eyes from; his father was simply an older version, somewhat softened by age.
There was something else to him as well, some lightness of spirit that hadn’t passed on to his more serious son, but which Kate found endearing. Edward’s father and her own had hit it off immediately, and her conversation with Mrs. Thompson was frequently interrupted by bursts of laughter from the men.
It was good to see her father like this. He had always been fond of a good laugh, but ever since her mother had passed on, it had become rarer and rarer to see him really enjoying himself. Kate had nearly forgotten that anybody else was joining them when she heard the sound of footsteps outside on the porch, followed by a rap on the glass of the front door.
“That’ll be Sam,” Kate said as she stood and headed for the hall, with Becky trailing behind. When she pulled the door open, her jaw nearly dropped to her chest. Good Lord, he’s like a new man, she thought as she looked him up and down. The boy from the farm was gone; standing in front of her was Sam as she had never seen him. He was clean shaven and his thick black hair had been pulled back, giving him the sleek look of a hawk. He was wearing a black coat with a crisp white shirt and his habitually dusty boots had been replaced with leather shoes shined to a gloss. He would have fit in at any of our dinner parties back in Boston. As he smiled at her, Kate felt a quiver in her tummy.
“Sam, you look wonderful,” Kate said. “I didn’t even know you had such nice clothes,” she blurted out. Her cheeks immediately turned beet-red as she realized how that must have sounded, but Sam let it go by without taking offense.
“Of course I do,” he said. “There just isn’t much call to dress up on the farm.” In his hand was an explosively colorful bouquet of wildflowers that had been tied with string, which he held out for Kate.
