Lark sucked in a deep breath and huffed it out. “I won.”
Her three sisters sat around the kitchen table. “Are you all right?” Delphinium whispered again.
“She’s in a state of shock. Ladies, your sister is in mighty deep water.” Mr. Holt’s voice softened. “Show them, Lark.”
Sinking down on one of the chairs, she pulled the envelope out of her reticule and laid it on the table. They all stared at the thick tan envelope as if it were about to ignite.
“How much is in there?” Lilac looked to Mr. Holt.
“Somewhere over five hundred dollars.”
“Are you sure?” Forsythia shook her head. “It can’t be.”
“Count it.” Lark sucked in another deep breath and propped her elbows on the table, making it easier to rub her eyes. “Lilac, will you get me a wet cloth, please? The cigar smoke in that place was . . .” She shook her head. “Lord, help us.”
“What are you going to do with all that money?”
“Pay back your loss, Mr. Holt.” She looked at the man leaning against the dry sink. “How much do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me a cent. I went into that game with my eyes open, and you won fair and square. That’s yours.”
“But—”
“No. I won’t listen to any argument. Right now we have to figure out a way to keep you safe.”
“Infuriating the deacon and gambling all in one night.” Forsythia squeezed Larkspur’s shoulder. “You’ve outdone yourself.”
“Good thing Ma and Pa aren’t here to see this.” Lilac handed her sister the dripping cloth.
Lark buried her face in the cool wet towel.
She lifted her head when they heard boots on the front porch. Holt started forward but stopped when Anders burst through the doorway. Lark swallowed again, not realizing she’d been holding her breath.
“What in the world have you done now?” Anders asked.
Jonah came in right behind him. “She bailed me and Bernie out of deep trouble. Jasper too.”
Anders shook his head. “Larkspur Grace Nielsen, do you have any idea what kind of trouble you’re in?”
She stared at him, feeling stronger by the second. “All I did was win at cards.”
“A woman playing poker in a saloon in this town is bad enough.” Anders clamped his jaw. “But you made that man look like a fool. I ran into a fella on my way who was there and was coming to warn us too. Apparently Ringwald’s threatening to get even.”
“What if Jonah had won? Wouldn’t it be the same?”
“No. He’d entice the boys back with the hope of winning more tomorrow.”
“So then . . .”
Anders slammed his hand on the table. “You’re a young woman who pulled the fleece over that man’s eyes. You made a fool of him. I’m sure you went in there playing the hesitant sweet young woman who didn’t know the game.”
“Not to mention flirting with him,” Mr. Holt muttered.
Anders cut a glance at her. “You didn’t.”
“Not really. That is, I didn’t mean to.” Lark flushed despite herself. “And I told him we played poker as a family on winter nights, as a parlor game.”
Anders stared at her, arms crossed over his chest.
“He was cheating.” Lark glared right back at her brother. “Cheating people right out of their livelihood—horse, saddle, land. He couldn’t be allowed to get away with that.”
“She has a point there,” Mr. Holt put in. “She showed that swindler up, and that’s a fact.”
Anders huffed out a disgusted breath. “It makes no difference anyway. The deed is done. The only way I see it, we need to get you out of town for a while. You could go visit Tante Grete for a month or so.”
“Are you serious?” Lark pressed the towel to her face again. Surely what she had done was not that bad.
“I have a small house out by the lake, you could stay there to begin with.” Holt nodded as he spoke. “You would be safe there.”
“So I just disappear?”
“What about the rest of us?” Del asked. “All the gossip . . . and the diatribe from Deacon Wiesel will never end. He’ll bar us from the church because we’re her sisters.”
Lark stood and opened the damper before lifting the lids on the stove to set a fire in the few remaining coals. “If we’re going to stay up talking, I need some coffee. How will you explain my disappearance to the good folks of Linksburg?” She tossed in some shavings and blew on the coals till smoke curled, then laid in kindling and a couple of larger pieces of wood. “And besides, I’ve not done anything against the law. If a man won that kind of money, people would congratulate him. And if we had a real pastor again, I would not be the brunt of the weasel’s fury. But if no one ever stands up to him, nothing will change.”
“Be that as it may, the reality is you are in a mess, and that means the rest of us are too,” Anders said.
Lark shut the stove door and sat back down. Maybe they needed a different solution—completely different.
“Remember when we talked about going west?” She watched shock freeze the faces around her. “Well, we did. There are no men around here of good husband material, and we’ve got to do something with our lives now that the war is over. Anders can stay and run the store. Besides, if we all left, Josephine and Anders could get married and move into the house here.”
“I don’t want to go west.” Jonah shook his head. “No and no.”
“They could use a man along, if they’re actually going to do this, for safety and help.” Anders frowned. “I’ve got the store and Josephine, but what’s holding you here? If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be in this fix in the first place.”
“They don’t need me,” Jonah insisted. “Lark is as good as a man. She’s as tall as many and a better shot than most.”
“So what are you going to do, then?” Lark threw up her hands. “You’re the one who keeps wanting adventure. And getting into trouble instead.”
Jonah squirmed in the chair. “I—I’ll work with Anders at the store.”
Anders studied his younger brother. “Why the change? I’ve been trying to get you there for ages.”
“And I had to about break your arm to get your help when I was running the store.” Lark narrowed her gaze at him. Was that a flush creeping over her little brother’s ears? “There’s a girl, isn’t there?”
“No!” Jonah scrubbed his hand over his hair, his ears turning scarlet. “I mean, I helped Lila Johnson find baking soda when I was in there the other day. She said she didn’t know what she would have done without me. So I can be good at helping people find stuff.”
“At least when they are pretty daughters of livery stable owners.” Lark rolled her eyes. “If you’re going to stay, you’d best be serious about it.”
“I am.” He did sound serious.
“There can be no gambling. None! No going to the saloon for anything.” Anders’s eyes sparked fire. “And if I catch you at it, you are out on your own. Out of the store, out of the house, out!”
Silence pulsated in the room. Only the growing fire snapped and spit.
Lark huffed out a breath. “Now that that’s settled, back to our original problem. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense, and not just because of this situation. I think the female portion of this family should head west.”
A collective breath sucked the air from the silent room.
Lark looked around at her family, only her heavy eyebrows twitching. Were they as observant as she was, that would tell them she was anything but certain. “Think about it. We have some money saved, and with this windfall, we could probably buy land rather than homesteading, which might be difficult as women.” Her breath came fast, belying her confident tone. Could they really do this?
Anders stared at her, tapping a forefinger against his chin. “If you want to go, Jonah had an interesting idea earlier. Do you think you can turn into Clark again?”
“Become a man again
?” Larkspur raised her eyebrows. When a letter from Anders during the war had told them he was injured and in a prison camp, Lark had turned herself into Clark. Taking a horse and wagon, she had driven behind Confederate lines and brought him back. Anders had been certain it was just in time for him to be buried next to their parents in the church graveyard, but with the good nursing of his sisters and nourishing food, his strength returned. While he still limped and always would, and he had lost part of one hand, he took over the family store from Lark once he had healed. “Yes. I think I can.”
“You mean travel on the train, right?” Forsythia asked.
“No, it doesn’t go far enough yet,” Lark said. “But we could take that covered wagon Anders got all outfitted for that man who changed his mind when his wife died.” She looked at her brother. “Should we get oxen or mules?”
“I’d say oxen, slower but more dependable. And besides I know a man who has four up to sell.”
“The same man?”
Anders nodded.
“I don’t want to go west in a wagon. It’ll take forever.” Forsythia shuddered. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m entitled to an opinion.” She hugged her arms over her chest. “Besides, where would we go? All the way to Oregon?”
“I think it’s too late in the spring to go that far. We’d have to overwinter somewhere or settle somewhere on the way.” Del set the cookie jar in the middle of the table. “The coffee should be hot pretty soon.”
Lark stared at her. “How do you know all that?”
“I’ve been reading accounts from folks who survived the journey. Some of the letters could break your heart.”
Anders stood and crossed to the parlor, where his father’s desk and bookshelves took up one corner. He returned with a pad of paper, a pen, and an inkwell. Pulling his chair up to the table and sitting down, he continued. “Ma always said start with a list, so that’s what we’re doing.” He looked at his sisters. “What?”
“You look and sound so like Pa.” Lilac blinked and sniffled.
Anders started writing. “Kansas is closer, and so is Nebraska.”
“I’ve read good things about the land in Nebraska.” Delphinium leaned forward. “And it might be far enough not to worry about the gambler tracking you down.”
“May I make a suggestion?” Mr. Holt took another chair. At their nods, he continued. “We have to get Lark out of town by morning. I heard what Ringwald said, and he meant business.” He looked at her. “You can pack a few things into saddlebags and take Lilac’s mare to the lake. Pack food, too, although there are staples in the pantry. One of my friends up there makes sure the house is always ready. We used to go up there when we could. Nora loved the lake. Meanwhile, we’ll figure things out. If you all decide to do this, we’ll get the wagon ready and packed, and the girls can stop there and pick you up the next day.”
Lark shook her head. “Impossible.”
Anders studied their friend. “No, no, pay attention. I think he’s got a point. Protecting Lark is the first thing, and you need to leave before dawn.”
“I’ll go along and make sure she gets there, then turn around and ride back. We could take the buggy. . . .” Holt thought a moment. “But riding is faster and would draw less attention.”
“Why do I feel like I’m being railroaded here?” Lark asked.
“Because you have to listen to someone else for a change.” Del patted her sister’s shoulder as she made the rounds refilling coffee cups. “We’re all agreed, right?”
Lark looked around the table and saw slow nods from everyone there. “But how will you know what to pack of mine? This is moving, not just going for a visit.”
“Don’t worry, none of us gets to take much.” Forsythia looked at Anders, who nodded. “I’ll make sure the trunk contains the Bible and a few other books.” She heaved a deep sigh. “I’m sure there is no room for my piano, but we can tuck the fiddle into the wagon, and the mouth organ won’t take up any room at all.” She gave Jonah a pointed look. “If you join us someday, you can bring the guitar.”
“Take it now.” Jonah shrugged. “Maybe the rest of us will come someday.” He looked to Anders, who was shaking his head.
The grandfather clock in the parlor chimed three times.
“I’ll go home, get saddled up, and be back within half an hour,” Mr. Holt said. “Jonah, would you please take care of my animals this morning?”
Jonah nodded.
“Lilac, go saddle up Starbright. And not with the sidesaddle. Remember, Lark will be Clark.” Anders raised his eyebrows. “You still have that slouch hat?”
Lark nodded. She’d kept the hat she had worn as Clark. That trip had taken her a month, but they had returned. This time they likely would not.
While they’d been talking, her mind had been running around, calculating how many miles they could travel in a day, how many weeks traveling time they had till frost, how far their money would go. But she needed to focus on the present. What could fit in her saddlebags for tonight? She’d need the rifle scabbard and ammunition. Good thing their father had made sure all his children could shoot straight. Forsythia even had a knack for knife throwing.
Lark rose. “I’ll be ready.” Her mouth said the words, but her mind screamed, I don’t want to leave home. Were they really doing this? “Forsythia, make sure you pack Ma’s flower seeds and whatever vegetable seeds we have left. Just think, perhaps we could find land to build Ma’s dream of a seed company. Remember, she thought Lilac and Forsythia should design the seed packets and catalogs? That seemed an impossible dream, but perhaps it’s not anymore.” She sighed. “Who knows, there has to be a reason for all of this.”
“You’re right. It bears thinking about.” Delphinium handed a heavy cloth bag of supplies to Lark. “We’ll bring the rest.”
Lark nodded. “And now I become Clark again. Who ever thought this would happen?”
Anders was buckling the saddlebags in place on Starbright when Holt rode back into the yard.
Lark hung a bag of food over the saddle horn, checked the girth one more time, and swung into the saddle. Fighting tears, she nodded down to her three sisters. “See you soon.”
“Go with God.” Anders squeezed her hand one more time. “I’ll come someday on the train to visit. Write often.”
Jonah shook his head slowly. “All because of me.”
“There will always be a place for you, no matter where we are,” Lark said.
She nudged her mount forward, Holt by her side. She knew if she looked back, she’d never leave. God only knew what lay ahead, and He was sure closemouthed. That thought didn’t stop her tears.
4
I sure hope this was the best thing to do.” Forsythia watched Lark’s form disappear into the darkness atop Starbright.
“Let’s go get some sleep. Morning is almost here.” Delphinium took Forsythia’s arm, and together the three sisters climbed the stairs to their bedroom, Jonah right behind them.
Without bothering to change into their nightdresses, they lay down and flipped light blankets over themselves to ward off the wee hours’ chill.
Lilac’s and Delphinium’s breathing soon evened, but Forsythia lay staring at the darkened ceiling.
Going west—was this really happening? How had everything changed so fast? All because of a couple of evil men. Not that things hadn’t changed before. Losing their parents. Losing the man she loved in a war that took so much. Now she was to lose her home too.
But what did she have to stay for? Maybe a new beginning could be a good thing. Yet tears burned her throat in the darkness. Lord, you know. Please lead us.
“What in the world?” Forsythia blinked awake some time later, fighting to come out of a deep sleep.
“Someone is pounding on the door,” Delphinium whispered. “Where’s Jonah?”
“You know he can sleep through anything.” Forsythia swung her feet to the floor and tiptoed over to the window that overlooked the front porch.
&nbs
p; “I know you’re in there,” yelled a raucous voice. “You better get down here before I break down the door.”
“I’ll answer the door.” Forsythia threw her dressing gown around her. “Del, you can run the fastest, so you go get Anders. Wake up Jonah too.”
“It’s Deacon Wiesel.”
“I know. Run.”
Del reappeared a few seconds later. “Jonah’s not in his room.”
Forsythia nodded and waved for her sister to hurry before stepping back to the window. “My land, can’t a body get any rest around here?” she called down to the deacon.
“Get Miss Larkspur down here!” he hollered back.
Lord, save us. Thank you for getting Lark out of here. Mr. Holt was so wise. “We’re coming.” Should she get the shotgun off the wall? Or her knife? Lark had the rifle. Please give me wisdom.
The deacon banged on the door again. “Get that Lark out here.”
At least he had the decency to stay on the porch, but he’d obviously been drinking. Where was Jonah?
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Forsythia detoured into the kitchen and lifted the old muzzle-loader off the wall. While it wasn’t loaded, it would make a good scare tactic and a possible club. Holding it in the crook of her arm, she stopped at the door. Lilac came up behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see her youngest sister with the rolling pin in one hand and the big knife in the other.
Wiesel continued banging on the door. Surely the neighbors had heard him and someone would go get the sheriff.
Forsythia shot up one more prayer and opened the door a crack. “Why, Deacon Wiesel, isn’t this a bit early for house calls? I’m sorry, but we don’t even have the stove lit yet to make coffee.” She surprised herself with such a genteel voice. Knowing him, he’d probably been taking his frustrations out on his wife before he came here.
“Where is that Lark?” His breath nearly knocked her over. Drink and chaw. What a combination.
“You mean Miss Larkspur?” She put the emphasis on the Miss.
The Seeds of Change Page 3
