by Leigh, Nerys
She thought about that letter, the one she’d been waiting for since she and Daniel had begun corresponding. Of course she knew the proposal by heart after the many, many times she’d read it.
My dear Sara, these last few months of writing to you have been among the happiest of my life. Every time I find something particularly difficult on the farm, I remember why I’m doing it and I’m smiling again. You make me smile, Sara. Even from all the way across the country you fill my life with joy and I don’t feel like I can wait another second to ask you the question that’s been on my mind ever since I read your first letter.
Sara Worthing, you are everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Will you marry me?
I know life here is very different from what you’re used to, but I can only promise that if you say yes, I will spend the rest of my days doing everything in my power to make you as happy as you’ve made me.
Of course she’d said yes. In fact, she’d grabbed the first piece of paper she could find and scribbled a huge ‘YES!!’ across it. Then she’d replaced it with a more demure response, the gist of which had, nevertheless, been that same ‘YES!!’ But if she was honest, if all the letter had said was, ‘Dear Sara, will you marry me? From Daniel,’ she would still have said YES!! And then danced around the room for joy.
“It was the most wonderful letter I’ve ever read,” she said. “Even without knowing of the Herculean effort the writing of it took.”
“Just call me Will Shakespeare,” he said, winking.
The back door opened at that moment and Daniel walked in. At their abrupt silence he looked between the two of them. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve just been talking about me?”
“Because you have an inflated idea of your own importance?” Will said.
“Ha. Ha.”
He walked to the sink, smiling as he passed Sara. After hearing the story of his proposal, she wanted to jump up and throw herself into his arms. As he washed his hands she couldn’t tear her eyes from him.
No one said anything for a full twenty seconds.
Daniel finally spoke to Will while drying his hands. “All right, what were you saying about me?”
“You’re paranoid,” he answered, leaning back in his chair. “Maybe you should write your feelings down. Away from any fires and open windows.”
Daniel froze and then slowly rotated to look at him. “You didn’t.”
Will shrugged one shoulder. “She was bound to find out sooner or later.”
“It’s been less than forty-eight hours!”
“So, sooner then.”
He gave Sara an apologetic look. “I promise every word of my other letters was written completely by me. I was just so nervous about asking you to marry me. I only had one chance to get it right and not mess up the rest of my life.”
Even if she’d had the courage to throw herself into his arms now, her legs didn’t feel like they would hold her up. “I think it’s wonderful.” I think you’re wonderful.
Daniel’s gaze held hers until her heart was thudding.
And until Will loudly cleared his throat. “I’m still here.”
Sara felt as if she needed to gasp in a lungful of air. Daniel sauntered to the table and took a seat next to her.
“I would have said yes whatever you wrote,” she said, gazing into his smiling eyes.
“Now she tells us!” Will said, shaking his head. “Is it time to eat yet?”
Chapter 8
Since Daniel hadn’t let Sara cook at all the previous day and all they’d had for breakfast was bread and honey, the roast chicken dinner was his first chance to sample his new wife’s cooking. It was as delicious as Daniel knew it would be.
He’d made up his mind long before they met face to face that he would adore everything about her, just as his own father adored his mother. Growing up, it had been obvious to him that the secret to a happy marriage was mutual respect and a lot of love. He’d seen it every day of his life and it was what he wanted more than anything. So far, Sara was everything he’d longed for, including a wonderful cook.
Will seemed to be in agreement as he had second helpings of everything and stopped just short of picking up his plate and licking it clean of the gravy, Sara clearly trying not to laugh as she watched him.
After the meal, Will retreated to the bunkhouse, probably to sleep off the previous night’s activities. Daniel was relieved Sara seemed not to have any problems accepting Will after what he’d told her about his brother. With him disappearing several nights a week, there had been no other option but to tell her. But he’d been nervous about it. The last thing he wanted was for a wedge to be driven between his brother and his wife. Thankfully, that hadn’t happened. In fact, they seemed to be even more comfortable with each other. Embarrassing stories about how he’d needed his brother’s help in proposing to her notwithstanding, that was a good thing. He almost envied Will in the way he made being comfortable around her seem so effortless.
Daniel had been unprepared for the effect Sara had on him. Half of him felt like a schoolboy at his first dance; the rest wanted to sweep her into his arms and find out if those beautiful, rose-pink lips tasted as sweet as they looked. She was spinning him in exciting, frustrating, dizzying circles. And he was loving every minute of it.
“Would you like to take the horses for a ride?” he said as they sat on the porch bench after dinner. “There’s a lake not too far away I’d like to show you, beyond the farm.”
She looked up from her book and smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Daniel saddled River and Rosie while Sara changed her clothes. He never could fathom the amount of different clothing women seemed to need, although he did understand her explanation that she didn’t want to risk damaging the dress she’d worn to church. That would have been a shame. She was breathtaking in the blue gown.
But when she walked from the house in a pale green calico dress, he had to admit she looked breathtaking in that too.
It wasn’t the dresses, it was her.
“Is this new?” she said as she reached him and ran her hand over Rosie’s saddle.
“If it’s not OK, I can take it back and get another one. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to ride astride or not.”
Her nose wrinkled. “My mother thinks riding astride is unladylike. She used to make me ride side saddle when we were in town and I hated it. So this is perfect, thank you.”
He stepped into position beside Rosie. “Can I help you up?”
Her smile turned mischievous. “Well, I don’t need you to, but I wouldn’t object at all if you did.”
It was a few seconds before Daniel realised his mouth was hanging open. It was another couple before he remembered he needed to breathe.
Smiling, she placed her foot into the stirrup and he lifted her into the saddle, keeping his hands on her only a few moments longer than was absolutely necessary and resisting the desire to pull her back down and into his arms. His self-control deserved a medal.
The journey began at a walk through the farm. Daniel watched Sara as she rode, gauging her comfort in the saddle. As she seemed perfectly at ease, when they emerged into open countryside he nudged River into a canter that she easily kept pace with. And then she surprised him by breaking into a full gallop, her laughter drifting back to him on the wind. With a smile stretching his face, he urged River after her.
They finally slowed as they approached the lake. Sara’s cheeks were red from the wind, her eyes bright. Tendrils of hair had escaped her chignon and curled haphazardly around her face.
Daniel longed to release the rest and watch it tumble over her shoulders.
“That was amazing!” she said breathlessly. “I haven’t galloped in so long. Rosie is wonderful.” She stroked her hand up the horse’s neck and Rosie snorted and shook her head.
“You’re a real good rider,” Daniel said, dragging his eyes from her hair. “I could barely keep up with you.”
She laughed and patted Rosie’s sho
ulder. “Well, if that’s true I think my beautiful horse deserves most of the credit.”
Daniel led the way to the lake’s edge and, when the horses had drunk their fill, he and Sara guided them into a walk parallel to the shore.
Their conversation was easy and light; two people getting to know each other, moving beyond the attraction of their letters to the more intimate, personal connection only talking face to face could bring. He’d often wondered if he would like Sara in person as much as he did in her letters, finding it hard to imagine that being possible. But she’d surprised him by being even better in person. He couldn’t help hoping she felt the same about him.
After a while, they heard familiar voices.
Sara brought Rosie to a halt and pointed through the trees ahead to a clearing at the water’s edge.
“Look,” she whispered excitedly, “it’s Amy and Adam.”
Daniel followed the line of her finger and saw his friend stretched out on a blanket in the clearing, Amy sitting next to him and Stride, Adam’s black stallion, grazing nearby. As he and Sara watched, Amy leaned forward and kissed Adam’s cheek. He said something and she laughed, climbed to her feet and went to sit on a rock at the water’s edge.
Adam’s eyes looked like they were closed, but even from this distance Daniel could see he was still surreptitiously watching her.
“Let’s not disturb them,” Sara whispered. “They look like they’re enjoying each other’s company. The more she gets to know him, the more she’ll want to stay. I know it.”
“That’s fine by me.”
Much as Daniel liked Adam he had no wish to enlarge his own little group of two either. He wanted Sara all to himself this afternoon and he suspected Adam felt the same about Amy. Adam could thank him later.
They took a detour around the clearing, wide enough to not be seen by the not-courting couple, and rejoined the path skirting the lake’s shore further along. Eventually they came to an open area of golden coloured grass dotted with scrubby bushes covered with clusters of tiny pink flowers. They dismounted and let the horses graze while they wandered down to the water’s edge. Sara drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, tilting her head to the sky.
Being as he was her husband, Daniel knew that he had the right to look at his wife. But he still felt a little guilty for allowing his gaze to stray from her still unruly hair, along her jaw and down her smooth neck. He imagined reaching out his hand, brushing his fingertips along the path his eyes had taken, moving to cradle the back of her head. She would open her eyes, look up into his with longing. He would step in close, lower his mouth to hers and...
She opened her eyes.
Daniel snapped his gaze away so fast it made his neck click.
“It’s so beautiful here,” she said, looking across the sky blue water to the mountain beyond. “When you described in your letters what it was like, I have to admit that I thought you might be exaggerating to impress me. But now I can see it for myself, I know that you weren’t.”
“I can’t say I didn’t ever try to impress you, but this was the one time all I needed to do was tell you the simple truth. From your letters, I knew you would love it here. I would never have asked you to marry me if I’d thought otherwise.” He couldn’t have been more relieved that he’d never thought otherwise.
She darted him a glance and then looked back at the lake, smiling slightly. “Then I’m extra glad that I do.”
Daniel felt a deep sense of peace settle over him. Being here with Sara by his side felt so... right. He knew bringing her all the way across the country to his farm had been the right thing to do, for both of them. It was so easy to see their lives together in front of them now. He would work hard on the farm so he could look after her and she would make their house a real home. There would be children, grandchildren, and a life filled with love and laughter. It was what he’d been dreaming of ever since he could remember, and it was finally happening.
Thank You for Sara, Father. Thank You for our life together that’s coming, I know it’s going to be everything I’ve ever wanted. Help me to be the best husband I can be.
“I’ve been praying a long time for a wife,” he said. From the corner of his eye he saw Sara look up at him, but he kept his eyes fixed on the scene before them. “All the time I was building up the farm, making it work so I could one day support a family, I prayed every morning and evening for the woman God had in store for me, and I trusted that He would bring me a good wife. But I never thought...” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, lowering his eyes to the shoreline in front of him. “That Bible verse that says God can do much more than we ask or think of? I’ve never truly appreciated what it meant, until now.” He glanced at her and then back out at the lake. “You’re more than I ever asked for or imagined, Sara. I just wanted you to know that.”
He could feel her eyes on him and wished he knew what she was thinking. Maybe it was too soon for his little speech, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He needed her to know how much her being there meant to him.
Following a few long seconds of silence, he moved a little closer and brushed the back of his hand tentatively against hers and then waited. After a few moments, her knuckles touched his. Barely able to breathe, he moved his hand again, slowly edging it around hers. And then their fingers were lacing together, the warmth of her palm settling against him, her small hand nestling in the cradle of his.
As they held hands and watched the water gently lap the lake’s shore, Daniel couldn’t ever remember being so happy.
Chapter 9
Sara pegged the final item of laundry on the clothesline, one of Daniel’s shirts, and stretched her aching arms out behind her.
Laundry. She’d never before had to do it herself, other than the time a few weeks ago when she’d asked Elspeth to teach her how in preparation for becoming a wife. She’d thought she was prepared. She wasn’t.
Hopefully it would get easier as she went along. It was after three in the afternoon and she was only now just finishing after working for practically the whole day. She was developing a new appreciation for how hard her family’s servants had to work. But she was a farmer’s wife now, which meant doing her own laundry.
Breathing a deep sigh, she looked along the line at the clean clothing swaying in the warm breeze. There was a certain satisfaction to it, she had to admit. Or maybe that was just relief that it was over.
She winced a little at the pain in her back as she bent to pick up the empty laundry basket and dropped in the bag of wooden pegs. A rest was in order. She’d made a lemon pie for supper and had intended to wait until then to have a slice, but there was no harm in having a piece now. She felt she’d definitely earned it.
“Miss Worthing?”
She jumped at the voice, her stomach knotting. She’d thought she was on her own. For the first time since arriving, fear gripped her at being all alone out here. Daniel kept a rifle in the house. Would she be able to reach it if she was in danger?
“Miss Worthing, are you home?”
A tall, thin man clad in a long, black coat which surely must have been too hot for the weather appeared from around the side of the house.
She breathed out in relief. Not a stranger. Not exactly welcome, but not dangerous.
He waved when he saw her. “Forgive me, I tried knocking at the front, but there was no answer.”
She tried not to let her shoulders slump. “Mr Pulaski, this is a surprise. I didn’t realise you were in Green Hill Creek.”
His ridiculous pencil thin moustache curled up and disappeared into the corners of his mouth. “Yes, I decided to remain for a while. I’ve taken a room in the hotel. Forgive me for turning up unannounced, Miss Worthing.”
It was the second time he’d asked for her forgiveness, but since he was currently standing between her and a slice of lemon pie he was barking up the wrong tree.
“It’s Mrs Raine now.”
His smile vanished. “Yes. Yes, of course.”
“What can I do for you, Mr Pulaski?”
“To be honest, I’m happy to see a familiar, friendly face, being new to the area and all. I’m sure you know how I feel, you being new here too.” His eyes darted to the house as if he was expecting an invitation inside.
Sara sincerely hoped her face wasn’t being friendly. On the train from New York she’d been unfortunate enough to find herself in conversation with Mr Pulaski on several occasions, and on each of those occasions she’d done her best to keep it short. Two days into the journey she’d begun to actively avoid him. It wasn’t that the man was objectionable in any specific way, it was simply that he was quite possibly the dullest person she’d ever met. If there’d been contests for being dull, he would be a winner every time. His favourite subject was buttons. They were his profession, he’d told her. He made them. They were fascinating, he’d claimed. He was utterly wrong on that score.
“Well,” she said, “if you are planning on staying, I’m sure you will get to know everyone here. It seems like a lovely town.”
“Yes, I’m sure it is.” He looked at the house again.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “I’d invite you in but as you can see, I’m in the middle of laundry and I still have so much to do before my husband and brother-in-law return.”
She lifted the basket as evidence, offering a silent prayer for forgiveness for the lie. Then she wondered if it was wrong to ask forgiveness for something she’d do again in a heartbeat.
His gaze dropped to the basket. “Oh, yes. I can imagine it’s very hard work out here in the middle of nowhere. To tell the truth, I was also hoping to see your,” he paused, his mouth tightening for a split second, “husband. I’m looking for temporary work and it was suggested to me he might be hiring some help for his farm.”
Sara couldn’t stop her eyes darting to his feet and back up again. Of all the things his black coat, black trousers, polished black shoes and pristine white shirt said, it wasn’t ‘farmhand’. Although he had one of those faces that made it next to impossible to pinpoint his age, she didn’t think he could be more than thirty-five, but he didn’t look like he could lift so much as a shovel. Daniel must have been twice his size, all of it muscle.
