Something about the way Georgia spoke reminded Ginny of all the ladies from her Regency England novel. Perhaps it was Eloise's influence, but it seemed that Georgia was striving to be extremely ladylike.
“Oh, and he didn't mention me at all, huh?” Ginny couldn't say she was surprised, just annoyed.
“No, he didn't. May I ask why you've come to visit us?” Georgia looked pained to ask, as though she was stomping on some piece of etiquette she'd practiced so hard to perfect.
“I'm... uh...” Ginny didn't want to say the wrong thing. After a moment, she decided to be as honest as she could. “I'm your new governess. I'm to teach the boys, and I suppose be a chaperone for you.” Ginny addressed Georgia, since Nate had obviously grown bored with her when compared to his breakfast.
Georgia's eyes lit up with excitement. “That's wonderful. Since Eloise married, the boys schooling has been lacking.”
“There's another brother, right? Frank?”
“Yeah, Frank left with my brother to check on the cattle. He thinks he's bigger than he is.” With that, Nate shoveled one last bite in and left the table in such a hurry that he nearly knocked his chair over.
Looking embarrassed, Georgia said, “Don't mind, Nate. He's a little jealous because Colby started showing Frank how things are done around here. In a few years, he'll do the same with Nate.”
“Of course,” Ginny didn't know what else to say. All her siblings in her real life were much older. She had to live through a lot of “why does he get to do that and I can't” conversations with her mother.
“After breakfast, I can show you around.” Georgia smiled again. She had a beautiful smile, with perfect white teeth. She was also stunning. Her hair was golden blond and wavy, coming out of a loose ponytail in the back of her head. Her eyes were sky blue, and she had a very flattering figure. Not that it mattered, but in this part of the world, a pretty and available girl were very sought after.
“That would be great. Should we collect Nate as well. From what I hear from Tim, he can get himself into trouble very quickly.”
With a laugh that sounded almost musical, Georgia said, “Tim would know. He's always caught in the middle of one of their schemes.”
Ginny was impressed with how mature Georgia seemed. At eighteen, she should be silly and frivolous. It was probably difficult to be either when living in the frontier.
“So, do you have any boyfriends?” Might as well cut to the chase.
Looking down into her lap, Georgia took on a bright, embarrassed hue. “No. I suspect that Colby would like to marry me off as soon as possible, though. No one has captured my heart as of yet.”
Ewwww , she thought. Sounded like too much romantic drivel. I t was probably one of the things I'm supposed to do here anyway.
“Well, you're still pretty young. There's plenty of time for marriage and babies.” Ginny finished her breakfast and asked if there was anywhere to wash up.
“The bathroom is right behind that door,” Georgia said while pointing to a door in the back of the kitchen. Walking her over, she opened the door to reveal a wash basin, toilet and tub. “The water is connected to the stove and should be very warm now. We usually wait until evenings to use the tub, since the hot water is more plentiful, but there you could fill the sink and clean yourself up if you wish.”
Ginny stared at the toilet. It had been a long time since she'd seen one and wondered if it flushed. She couldn't imagine it did, since there was no sewer system around here.
“There are clean towels in the cupboard,” Georgia stated as she pointed to a cabinet in the corner. “Why don't you clean up, and I'll go collect Nate for our tour. Will ten minutes be sufficient?”
Staring at the bathroom as if it were plated in gold, Ginny murmured her affirmation. She entered the bathroom and closed the door. There was no lock, so she would just have to take her chances. Opening the lid to the box like toilet, she saw that she was right. It was essentially a deep hole. Ginny wondered if there was something that was emptied occasionally or if they had made an extremely large hole. She didn't care, since it was clean and she didn't have to use the woods.
After using the lukewarm water from the water pump, Ginny left the bathroom feeling much better than she did before hand. She found Georgia and Nate in the parlor, waiting for her. Georgia smiled and Nate looked somewhere between pissed and annoyed.
“I don't see why I have to go and all. It's not like I don't know where everything is myself.” Nate's statement confirmed Ginny's impression of his mood.
Before Georgia could say something, Ginny replied, “It's because you are so knowledgeable of the ranch that I need you to show me around. You undoubtedly know where all the most interesting sights are.” Ginny smiled and batted her eyelashes at the boy.
Nate took the bait. “Oh, yeah. I can show you the special fishing spot at the stream, and where Frank and I like to hide our treasure, and where Nicki and Joey hide when there's thunder...”
“That sounds great,” Ginny responded before he could continue. At that rate, their tour would take all day just waiting for Nate to finish his commentary.
The group set out, and Nate narrated the entire tour. He offered little tidbits of information that, at times, Ginny didn't even think Georgia knew about. Although she grew up on the same land, she grew up a girl, with different priorities and imaginings. The water hole to her was a moat around a fairy tale castle. Where to Nate and Frank, it was a vast sea where pirates ruled.
Ginny met their horses, their dogs and even their barn cat, Reggie. After seeing everything there was to see of the ranch, Nate offered to take her out on horseback to see the rest of the land.
“Maybe another day, Nate. I just got here and I believe Eloise is coming by soon to visit.”
“You met Eloise?” he asked. The look on his face spoke of pure, unadulterated, puppy love.
Smiling, thinking about her early crushes, she answered, “Yes. I met her last night when we dropped off Tim at home. I only got to speak to her for a few minutes before we left to come here.”
Slightly dazed looking, Nate said, “She is so pretty, isn't she?”
“Yes, she is. She wanted to discuss where she left off with your lessons. I hope that I can teach you as well as she did.”
Georgia snorted at this, and Nate shot her a dirty look. Ginny decided that she didn't want to get caught up in whatever scandal was brewing, so instead suggested they get some water.
“Nizhoni probably made some lemonade. If Colby went through Cheyenne, he would have picked us up some lemons.” And with that, Nate ran towards the house.
Ginny and Georgia turned to walk toward the house. Georgia wanted to say something, but looked as though she struggled on how to put it. Ginny, taking pity on her, just asked her what was on her mind.
“Eloise didn't really control the boys very well. They can really be a handful, Ginny. Eloise expected them to behave. When they didn't, she just... well, she just gave up. I hope you won't. Colby isn't around enough to discipline them, and Nizhoni has too many other things to do.”
“I'll do my best. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. I'll figure out how to get through to them, you'll see.” Ginny smiled to reassure Georgia, who in turn smiled back.
They entered the kitchen to find Nate already sucking down a glass of lemonade. By the stove, stirring a large pot of something that smelled like heaven, was a short, older woman. She had long, black hair, styled in one braid down her back. Her face was heavily lined showing both her age and life experience. Her coloring and features were Native American. She was the Navajo that Tim spoke of. From what Tim told her, Nizhoni refused to speak English, although she could understand it just fine. She mumbled something to Georgia, who retrieved two glasses from the cupboard. Nizhoni filled the glasses with lemonade and turned back to her pot. Georgia handed one of the glasses to Ginny, who walked over to the woman and said, “Thank you, Nizhoni. My name is Ginny and it is a great pleasure to meet you.” She smi
led as the old woman stared up at her face.
Grabbing Ginny's face with both hands, she mumbled something unintelligible, but kept eye contact with Ginny. Georgia translated.
“She says she welcomes you to her family, Ginny.” Georgia's smile beamed.
“I know you don't like to speak English. I'm sorry that I don't know any Navajo.” From what Ginny understood, during World War II, the Americans used the Navajo language as the only code that the Japanese were not able to break. If it was that difficult, she couldn't see how she could learn it proficiently.
“Too bad you don't speak Spanish, Ginny. She seems to like that language better than English.”
Did Nate say Spanish? Ginny thought. You couldn't be a health professional in the Southwest without being able to speak some Spanish. After a few years in a busy downtown ER, Ginny was more than proficient.
“Hablo español.” Ginny saw the woman's face light up. She had to wonder why she would speak Spanish over English, so she decided to ask her. The woman went into a long story about her dead husband being Mexican, so they taught their only son both languages. It was the Miller family that taught him English as well.
Georgia expounded on Nizhoni's son. “His name is Antonio Vasquez. He's traveling at the moment, but he said he would be back soon to help with the ranching.” There was something in her voice which Ginny assumed was admiration. Perhaps Georgia considered Nizhoni's son like a brother, to be loved like the rest of the family.
Ginny spoke to the old woman, asking in Spanish what she was cooking. The woman responded in kind, describing the stew, and the homemade bread cooking in the oven. The two women continued their chatter when Nate heard a knock at the door and went to answer it.
A few moments later, Eloise entered the kitchen carrying a few books in her arms. As soon as Nizhoni saw her, she turned back to her stew and ignored Tim's wife like she wasn't there. Ginny was momentarily stunned, not realizing the dynamic. Turning toward Eloise, she said hello.
“How are you doing, Mrs. Miller?” Eloise asked, her back ramrod straight and her expression neutral.
At the mention of “Mrs. Miller,” Georgia, Nate and Nizhoni all turned and stared at her. Crap, she thought, realizing what a precarious position the former governess had just put her in. Thinking on her feet was a specialty, so this was not the disaster it could have been.
“Eloise, please call me Ginny. I'm not really Colby's wife.” Ginny knew she had to fix this before Colby got home. She didn't need him being mad at her for yet another thing.
“Tim mentioned that you two were married. He bought you from a wife dealer.” Eloise may be prim and proper, but she had no clue.
“Yes, he did. He saved me from what could have been a much harder life. But Colby and I agreed that I would be an employee only, not a wife. I would work for him to pay off the debt of buying me, then I would decide if I wanted to stay on with the children.”
During this exchange, the three other occupants were turning their heads back and forth, like watching a tennis match. Nate's mouth was open, Georgia looked very surprised, and Nizhoni kept making strange tsking sounds.
“Oh my, I do apologize. So, the two of you... you aren't... there's no...” Poor Eloise. The harder she tried, the more frustrated she became. It was actually pretty funny. Nizhoni thought so as well, as she began laughing a deep laugh that Ginny always associated with heavy smokers.
“Eloise, why don't we sit in the parlor together. You can give me your information.”
Georgia, being her most diplomatic, asked Eloise to stay for lunch. One look at Nizhoni suggested she might want to think better of it. Eloise, however, wasn't the quickest on the draw, so to speak.
“That would be delightful, Georgia. Thank you.”
Turning her back on the group, Eloise led the way to the parlor. Ginny smiled at her new family and followed closely behind.
Reaching the parlor, Eloise chose to sit on the settee and motioned Ginny to join her. She went about fixing her skirts, waiting for Ginny to get settled, before picking up the books she placed on the table next to the couch.
“I brought over the books I've been using for the boys.” Eloise handed Ginny the books.
Taking them, Ginny paged through the first few pages of the top book. “Why do you have these? Shouldn't the boys keep them here to do homework and such?” Ginny saw that the first book was a history book. She thought it would be interesting to see historical perspective in this time period.
“The boys would destroy the books, rather than read them.”
Looking up from the book, Ginny could see that Eloise was not pleased with her teaching position on the Miller ranch. Hoping for honesty, Ginny decided she would hold off on the subtle and just jump into her questioning.
“Were the boys difficult to teach?” Well, I wouldn't call that subtle.
Smiling like she'd just eaten a lemon, Eloise expounded for a full twenty minutes on all that was wrong with Frank and Nate Miller. They were rude, obnoxious and dirty boys. Frank would constantly use profanity in his regular language, and Nate seemed to have an affinity toward mud.
“What sort of teaching position did you have before coming here, Eloise?”
“I worked for Mrs. Hopewell's School for Affluent Young Women. It was a lovely place, but I found myself needing to leave.”
Not wanting to change her “lack of subtlety” tack, Ginny asked why.
Looking down, Eloise blushed. Clearing her throat, she said, “I don't really like to discuss the particulars. I came with the best of intentions, but it just wasn't an appropriate position for me. I worked well with Georgia, but I find that working with boys just doesn't suit my skills.”
“Okay. Well, I appreciate the books, and I will keep in mind that the boys can be... boisterous. Thank you.” Ginny smiled. Eloise was wound tighter than twine. Everything she described to Ginny sounded like “boys being boys.” There didn't seem to be anything wrong with them other than their being young and male.
“Perhaps you would like to take a turn around the house with me. It is such a pleasant day, is it not?”
“Yes, great. I'll just go ask Georgia if she would like to join us.” As Ginny was leaving the room, she felt relief. There was something about Eloise that just felt wrong. She struck Ginny like a ticking time bomb, that someone would eventually set off. Ginny wasn't sure if she wanted to be around for that or not.
Georgia was still in the kitchen with Nate. Nizhoni was off in the garden, picking some vegetables for dinner.
“Georgia, would you like to take a walk with Eloise and me?” Ginny was still holding the books in her hands, so she figured she'd put Nate to work on something productive. Taking the history book out and opening it to the section on the Louisiana Purchase, she placed the book in front of Nate at the table.
“Nate, while we're gone, I want you to read this section and be prepared to answer questions when I return.”
“What?” Nate cried, turning a shade of red.
“Oh, did I speak in something other than English?” Ginny needed to take the upper hand immediately if she hoped to survive the Miller boys.
“Why do I have to do schoolwork and Frank doesn't?”
Ginny made a production of looking over both her shoulders. “Am I missing Frank? Is he here?”
“No! He got to go with Colby.”
“Well, then. I guess you answered your own question.”
“What if I don't?” Nate's expression was precious to Ginny. She had nephews, and she had babysat them from the time she was twelve. Ginny was not afraid to put her words into action.
Knowing, by his own admission, that being outside was what made Nate happiest, Ginny replied, “I will lock you in your room until you read it.”
“You... wouldn't... dare!” Nate dragged out each word, squinting his eyes like a gunslinger.
Ginny put both her hands on the table, put on her most cross expression, and stared right back at the young, indignant face. “T
ry me.”
Nate, who clearly wasn't used to anyone standing up to him, backed down immediately. He made some sputtering noises but otherwise looked close to tears.
“Look Nate, if it will help, why don't you go outside and read. You could pick a nice spot in the meadow or the barn. I don't care where you read, just that you read it.” Ginny felt like she was playing both good cop and bad cop. She had to gain his trust and make him realize that she was not the enemy.
Somewhat placated, Nate took the book and left through the back door. Turning toward Georgia, who had an expression of shock, she said, “Shall we?”
“Of course, Ginny. Let's.”
A Lesson in Patience Page 7
