by A. J. Goode
“None at all. Adam has invited Will and David as well, so it will be almost like a party. Besides,” Caroline glanced around furtively and leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “I’m going to burst if I don’t talk to another woman soon.”
Victoria’s heart sank at the mention of Will’s name. She opened her mouth to make an excuse, but her words dried up at the hopeful expression on Caroline’s face. “I -- I can’t wait,” she faltered, and plastered a big fake smile on her own face.
Chapter 8
Caroline and Adam Phillips’ home turned out to be a small, tidy house just outside of town. Like many homes in the area, it was new and still smelled of freshly-cut wood. The barren ground surrounding the house was a grim reminder of the fire that had claimed the original home that had stood on the spot, but enough trees had survived in the distance to give a feeling of being nestled safely within the woods.
“Fire turned out to be a blessing in a way,” Adam explained as he helped Victoria down from their wagon. “It cleared out a lot of land that would have taken years of cutting to accomplish.”
“Wait’ll you see inside!” Sophie cried, grabbing her arm. “Uncle Adam built us stairs to our room this time so we don’t have to climb a ladder!”
“And there’s a nice new stove,” Emily told her, quietly taking her other arm.
Victoria laughed and allowed herself to be dragged through the door into a surprisingly spacious room that was warm and inviting if a little spartan. There was a long wooden table and chairs, with two rocking chairs near the fireplace. A narrow flight of stairs led to the second floor, which the girls quickly explained was their loft bedroom. While they were chattering, she spotted two doors along the opposite wall and assumed those must be bedrooms.
“The girls slept in the loft in their old house,” Caroline explained, gesturing toward the doors. “Adam wanted them to have a choice between being in the loft again or having a room down here with us. And it’s nice to have an extra room in case we . . . that is, if there are more children . . . at some point.” She was blushing furiously.
Victoria fought back the urge to giggle at the other woman’s discomfort. She acts like a newlywed! she thought.
David Baxter stumbled through the door just then. Sophie let out a squeal and raced across the room to grab him in a hug that threatened to cut off his air supply.
“Welcome--unh--home, Sophie,” the boy grunted.
Emily whispered something in her sister’s ear, causing her to drop her arms immediately. Sophie stepped back and curtseyed awkwardly. “Thank you, David,” she mumbled. “Please, won’t you come in? May I take your coat?”
“She’s been working on her manners,” Emily explained in a loud whisper as the adults exchanged bewildered glances.
Adam burst out laughing and pulled his niece into his arms in a big bear hug. “Manners are all well and good, but don’t you dare stop being my wonderful, impulsive, uncontrollable Sophie! Lord, how I’ve missed you girls!”
Sophie squirmed out of her uncle’s grasp. “C’mon, David, let’s go see Dumplin. I missed him, too!” the girl said.
The room emptied quickly as the men went back outside to take care of the horses and Sophie dragged her friend outside. Emily stood uncertainly in the center of the room.
“Go on,” Caroline urged. “Victoria can help me in here.”
“What,” Victoria asked as soon as they were alone, “is Dumplin?”
“Dumplin is a silly little pony who thinks he’s a dog. He’s fat as can be, and lazier than a housecat, but he’s something of a hero around here now that he saved David and Adam during the fire.” Caroline shook her head. “I think those girls would bring that silly animal right into the house if Adam would allow it.”
They went to work on the dinner preparations, and Caroline chatted about their new home. “It’s so much roomier than it was before,” she gushed. “Adam left all the homey touches up to me, like curtains. He is such a dear man.”
“He seems to be,” Victoria nodded.
“Most of the people here in Serenity are so warm and welcoming. It already feels more like home to me than the town I grew up in, even though the only family I have here is my cousin Stan. How are you settling in?”
Victoria hesitated. “Will is so stern and angry,” she blurted. “He doesn’t like me at all. I think he wants me to fail as the teacher so he can send me away. And Hannah’s brothers are so -- oh, the little ones are fine, but Robert and Micah don’t seem to like me much either. In fact, I don’t think anyone but you, Hannah, and your two girls are at all happy to have me here as the new teacher. I don’t belong here, Caroline.”
“Of course you belong here,” Caroline said. She set a stack of plates on the table and reached for the silverware. “I think the boys are probably just unhappy about going back to school, and the parents are all worried about losing another teacher midway through the term. As for Will, well, don’t judge him too harshly. He’s really a very kind man once you get to know him.”
Victoria gave an unladylike snort, making her new friend laugh.
“He takes himself a little too seriously, that’s all,” Caroline chuckled. “He’s a born leader, and Adam says everyone has been looking at him for guidance since the fire. He keeps himself so busy looking after others that he doesn’t always take good care of himself. What he really needs is a wife.” She gave Victoria a quick, appraising look.
“Please don’t involve me in your matchmaking,” the teacher said hastily. “My heart belongs to Jonathon and always will. I promised him I would remarry someday, but when that time comes, it certainly won’t be to someone like Will Baxter.”
For some reason, the words sounded hollow even to her own ears.
Caroline tactfully changed the subject by asking about her life in Port Huron. For a short time, the conversation was steered safely around such superficial things as gardening and cooking, and away from things like love and marriage. But Victoria noticed the way her new friend’s gaze kept drifting to the door and window, after which she often blushed or sighed and seemed distracted.
Finally, she stopped working and took Caroline’s hand in her own. “You said you needed to talk to another woman,” she said gently. “What is it, Caroline? Is everything all right with you and Adam?”
“Oh, yes!” Caroline looked out the window once more. “He is a wonderful man, better than I remembered. I love him so much that sometimes it hurts. Does that make sense?”
Victoria nodded, remembering the early days of her own marriage.
“It’s just that . . . oh, it’s silly, really. He and I were together for such a short time before he sent us all back east, just a few weeks, and our marriage was strictly a business arrangement at that point.” A dreamy look came into her eyes. “I fell in love with him without even realizing it. It caught us both by surprise.”
“You fell in love in a matter of weeks?” Victoria asked, raising an eyebrow. “Are you having second thoughts, and that’s why you needed to talk?”
“Good heavens, no! No second thoughts at all!” Caroline looked horrified at the thought. “We love each other more than ever, that much is certain. But after all those months apart, we are like strangers sharing a house and . . . and a bed,” she finished lamely. “We are so awkward and polite with each other that it feels as though we’ve only just met.”
Victoria nodded again but said nothing.
“I’ve had five months to get to know Sophie and Emily,” she continued. “They are like daughters to me now, and I wouldn’t trade that time with them for anything. But now my own husband seems like a stranger. Victoria, how can we erase all that time apart?”
“You can’t,” Victoria said. “You can’t go back. You can only go forward.”
“But how?”
“I -- I don’t really know. I’m sorry, but Jonathon and I had a lifetime to fall in love, and only a few short years together before I lost him.” Victoria squeezed her new friend’s hand
s.
The door opened then, and the men trooped back into the little house. Caroline hastily brushed away a tear and turned back to the stove, but Victoria saw that Adam noticed. He frowned.
“Dinner is nearly ready,” his wife announced.
“Let me help you with that,” Adam murmured, taking a heavy bowl from her hands. He touched her fingers a little longer than necessary as he did so. Their gazes locked for a long moment.
They’re going to be fine, Victoria realized. They just need time to get to know each other once more.
Almost involuntarily, she glanced at Will, wondering for the tiniest of seconds what things would be like between them if only they had time to get to know each other better.
Chapter 9
Monday was another cold and blustery day, with dark clouds and moisture in the air that couldn’t seem to decide whether to fall as rain or snow. Victoria bundled up before heading out for the schoolhouse before the sun was fully up, but the wind still seemed to cut right through her layers of clothing.
She unlocked the door with the heavy key Will had given her the previous day. It took her just a few moments to light the stove and arrange her few belongings on her desk, and by the time she was done the room was already becoming warm and cozy.
A quick glance at the little watch pinned to her bodice told her that it was nearly time for the children to start arriving. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, determined to appear strong and confident to her charges.
She recognized a few of the faces as her students began to trickle into the building. The Phillips twins showed up first, followed closely by David and two boys who had their heads bowed together in deep conversation. Two little redheads, obviously brother and sister, stumbled in next. The three older Visser boys entered a few moments later. Two hulking dark-haired boys lumbered into the room after them, scowling at her in a way that nearly made her resolve crumble.
Just as she was ready to close the door, three girls ran up the walk, their arms linked. “Wait!” the tallest one shouted. “We’re coming!”
Fifteen. Victoria’s heart sank even as she gave the latecomers a welcoming smile. She forced herself to walk sedately toward the front of the room as the children removed their outerwear and settled into seats.
One more deep breath, and she was ready. “Good morning, students,” she told them, turning to face them. “I am Mrs. Dawson, your new teacher. I’d like to start the day by learning your names and ages, so please speak clearly as I come around the room.”
The redheads were Asa and Abby Conway, Nellie’s youngest. Asa and Edward seemed to be best buddies, and she made a quick mental note to watch the two of them closely in case their friendship ended up getting them into mischief.
Joris and Gerrit VanDam were the boys who had come in after David. Joris was nearly as tall and lanky as David, while Gerrit was shorter and sturdier. She noticed that Gerrit favored his right leg when he walked, and made a mental note to ask Hannah about that.
The three girls who had arrived arm-in-arm were all sisters who had walked nearly all the way from Bear Lake Mills. They were Esther, Lydia, and Phoebe Foote, and ranged from age fifteen all the way down to eight.
The two big, dark-haired boys who had come in together were Asa and Abby’s older brothers. Neil Conway was fifteen and burly with what seemed to be a perpetual sneer on his face, while Seth was a year older and even less friendly. Both boys made it clear that they didn’t want to be at school at all, and made it even clearer that they didn’t want her to be their teacher.
By the time Victoria had the information she needed, her students were getting fidgety and were whispering to each other.
“Attention, please!”
Everyone but Robert Visser and the two older Conways turned to look at her. The older boys continued their conversation as though she hadn’t spoken at all. She cleared her throat.
The last thing she wanted at this point was a confrontation with boys who towered over her and easily weighed nearly twice as much as she did. But she knew from experience that she would never have any control over her classroom if she didn’t make it clear from the beginning just exactly who was in charge here.
“Gentlemen,” she called out. “May I have your attention, please?”
Seth slowly turned his gaze toward her and grinned. “When we’re ready,” he told her.
“No, you will give me your attention now.”
Neil laughed as the rest of the students gasped and Seth slowly stood and drew himself to his full height.
“And what if I don’t want to?” he demanded.
“Then you may leave my classroom.” Victoria kept her voice calm and level, although she wanted nothing more than to march up to him and slap the defiant expression right off his face.
“You can’t kick me out. You’re bein’ paid to teach me.”
“Actually, I’m being paid to teach all the children in this room, and your disruption of my class is making that impossible. Mr. Conway, please leave and do not come back until you are ready to show me some respect.”
Seth glared at her for a long moment and then turned to stomp out of the room. She heard him moving about in the cloakroom for a moment, and then the door banged shut.
“You can’t kick him out!” Robert protested.
“Would you like to join him?”
“N-no, Ma’am.”
“Then I suggest you stop talking.” Victoria turned her back and began writing out lessons on the chalkboard, praying that the children wouldn’t notice the way her hand trembled as she wrote.
The rest of the day went smoothly, although she found herself checking her little watch more often than necessary. Time seemed to be moving much too slowly despite her efforts to keep everyone busy.
Finally, the time had come to release them all. She stood and thanked the children for coming, reminded them to finish their homework that night, and sent them out the door. As soon as they were gone, she took a few moments to wipe the board and clean up the day’s various messes. The fire in the little stove was nearly out by the time she was done, so she sank wearily into her chair and closed her eyes to rest for a moment.
“Mrs. Dawson?”
Her eyes flew open. Micah Visser stood in the doorway, holding his hat in his hands and shuffling uncomfortably.
“Yes, Micah? Is everything all right?”
“My sister says . . . I mean, I’m here to walk you home, Ma’am.” It was hard to tell if his cheeks were red from the cold air or from embarrassment, but she took pity on him either way.
“Why, thank you, Micah. That’s very gentlemanly of you. Let me get my things and make sure the fire is out.”
He waited while she did just that and then stood on the steps while she locked the door and dropped the heavy key into her bag.
“What did you think of your first day?” she asked as they set off toward home.
He shrugged. “I don’t think Seth’s dad is gonna be very happy with you.”
“Well, I’m not very happy with Seth.”
“Miss Brown never sent anybody home. She just sort of let Seth and Neil do whatever they wanted because she was afraid of Mr. Conway. Everybody’s afraid of Mr. Conway.”
Victoria felt a shiver run down her spine. She opened her mouth to reassure the boy, but paused when she saw a wagon in front of the Visser’s house. “Micah, please tell me that’s not Mr. Conway there to scold me already,” she said quietly.
He looked up at the wagon and grinned. “Nah, that’s Simon DeVries, the blacksmith. He won’t hurt nobody.”
“Anybody,” she corrected him absently.
Micah held the gate for her, and then the door. She thanked him and quickly hung up her coat. From the kitchen, she heard a deep male voice rumbling with laughter. Hannah’s voice joined his.
Victoria hesitated, suddenly feeling shy. She wasn’t a member of the family and hated to intrude on a private conversation, but she was terribly hungry and thirsty. A
fter a brief argument with herself, she tiptoed to the kitchen door and peeked through.
She saw Hannah and Robert sitting at the table with a man she vaguely remembered seeing at church the previous day. He was easily the largest man she had ever seen, and it was easy to believe that he was the blacksmith. The stranger and Robert had a large plate of cookies strategically placed between them, and Hannah was beaming at the stranger with a look Victoria had never seen on her face before.
Hannah looked up when she entered the kitchen. “Oh, Victoria, I’m so glad you’re home in time to meet Mr. DeVries. Simon, this is Mrs. Dawson, the houseguest I was telling you about.”
Devries stood to greet her, and Victoria couldn’t help but step back. The man was massive. He was also very handsome, she noticed, especially when he smiled at her and held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Dawson.”
Her hand was swallowed up by his larger one, but his handshake was surprisingly gentle. “The pleasure is all mine,” she said faintly.
Simon turned to Hannah. “Thank you for the cookies and buttermilk, Hannah. I’d best be going now.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad we were able to straighten things out.” Hannah wrapped a handful of cookies in a colorful towel and handed them too him.
He nodded his thanks. “I’ll be back tomorrow to fix that latch,” he promised.
“That is so kind of you, Simon.” Hannah blushed prettily.
With another nod, Simon turned and left with Robert trailing after him.
Hannah blushed even more at the questioning look on Victoria’s face. “Robert forgot to pay him for some repairs he did a few weeks ago,” she explained, “so he stopped by to collect and I thought he might like some cookies. It was the least I could do, really, after making him wait for his money.”
“Of course it was,” she murmured, hiding her smile.
Chapter 10
Victoria let out a huge sigh of relief as the last student left the room. She’d survived the first three weeks with only one major confrontation, even after Seth had sullenly returned to the classroom. Each day, her students warmed up to her a bit more, and her confidence in her teaching abilities got stronger. If not for the bad attitude of the older Conways and Robert Visser, she could have said that the job was going smoothly.
