by Joyce Alec
“My apologies,” he said, and then he strode over to her, staring down at her with an expression of mild amusement.
She smiled at him and turned to go back to her work.
“I wish to discuss something with you,” he said, leaning down to hold the dust bin as she scraped more ash into it.
“Yes?” she asked.
“I overheard you talking with Mrs. Adams yesterday about how you had sent a letter to a friend staying in town? About how you were looking for jobs?”
Anne nodded her head. “I am going to need to make a living somehow,” she said.
Perry smiled. “Well…my house has never looked this good, and I have never enjoyed my dinner more in my life since you arrived, Miss Welsh. So, I got to thinking…”
Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt her cheeks blush scarlet.
He didn’t seem to mind.
“What would you say to working for me? I’d like to offer you a more permanent position here.”
“Really?” she asked, her heart racing.
He nodded. “Certainly. The first thing I would do is get you out of that barn though. I have felt guilty about that every night since you arrived. You will have a spare room here in the house. I hope you do not feel that is inappropriate. I just feel like you will be more comfortable in the house.”
“Oh, that is too kind, Perry,” Anne said.
“Nonsense. You are here in this house more often than I am. It only makes sense.”
She was speechless. He was truly going to be so kind as to give her a position in his home like that?
“Are you certain?” she asked. “To allow me to stay in your home…?”
“And I will pay you, of course,” he went on. “How does about five dollars a week sound?”
Her eyes lit up. For a woman? He would pay a fair wage?
“You are very generous indeed,” she said. “Allowing me to stay in your home…paying me so generously.” She shook her head. “I truly do not know what to say.”
“Say that you will stay,” he said, nodding at her. “Say you will stay, and I will be happy.”
She grinned. “Of course, I will stay.”
The room he gave her was larger than her sister’s sitting room. She had cleaned it many times before but had never dreamt that she would ever be offered the chance to stay in it.
A large four-poster bed was nestled between two large windows that overlooked the garden behind the house, and it had a great view of the forest. A large armoire, a desk, and a trunk at the end of the bed also furnished the room.
The end tables had candle sticks on them, and there was a wash basin along one wall.
Every day, she had changed the flowers in the room to give it life.
She wondered if it had anything to do with Perry’s decision.
He helped her move her things to that space, and in such a large room, it felt like she had even less than she had in the barn.
“Why the long face?” Perry asked, as he laid down a box of matches beside the candles.
“I wish that I hadn’t left so many of my belongings at the monster’s house,” she said. She had taken to calling him that after Perry did, feeling it to be a fitting description. He didn’t have a right to have a name, nor would she foul her own mouth with it. “So many of my dresses, some of my books, and one of my favorite hats…”
She smiled at him.
“No matter. They are just material things. Surely, I will find things of more value one day.”
Perry frowned, but nodded his head.
“I wish that this man hadn’t taken so much from you,” Perry said.
Anne shook her head. “No. He could have taken much more, but I was fortunate to get out when I did.” She sighed, removing her mother’s locket and setting it atop the dresser. It looked pretty there and helped her feel as if she were settling in. “I am rather glad he struck me. It helped me to see his true character before it was too late for me.”
“I admire your courage,” Perry said. He ran his fingers through his hair, as though he was nervous. “I shall see you for dinner. I must get back to the barn to finish the last few chores of the day.”
“Of course,” she said.
That was odd, she thought to herself. What did he have to be nervous about?
A few days later, when Anne returned to her room to fold some clean linens fresh off the line, she discovered something wonderful.
Laying on the bed were five brand new dresses, all different colors, all exactly her size.
“Who…?” she said, crossing the room, lifting a lovely blue one into the air. “Who would give me these?”
“Well, Perry did, of course,” came Mrs. Adams voice, who had just stepped into the room. It was one of the few days she came to the house, but Anne was convinced that she liked Perry so much that she would have come anyway, even if he told her he didn’t need her any longer.
“Perry?” Anne asked wildly. “What do you mean? Why?”
She shrugged. “He told my husband his plans. He asked if I could pick up a few dresses from town for you. He said that you lost a great deal when you fled from that wicked man, and that he wanted to ensure that you were properly cared for, as long as you were under his roof.”
Anne blushed, the dress in her hands more valuable than gold in that moment.
“But to be honest, my dear?” Mrs. Adams said, smirking at Anne. “I think that boy fancies you a great deal.”
“What?” Anne exclaimed. “No, of course he doesn’t. Why would he fancy me, some poor girl who he happened to find in his barn one morning?”
“You have not seen the change in him that I have since you arrived,” Mrs. Adams said. “He is a different man. Happier. More hopeful. Protective. What happened to you shook him to his core, and his desire to ensure that it never happens to you again is quite evident.”
Anne looked down, running her fingers over the fabric of the dress.
“He feels personally responsible for you now, and I think he rather enjoys it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he has been looking for something to latch onto for years, girl. He’s never had a woman so close to him. Besides, you are very pretty, of the age to marry, and he has yet to find a wife…”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Anne said, laying the dress down. “I am to be his housekeeper. Not his wife…”
She nodded more firmly. “If you say so, dear. If you say so.”
5
Anne greatly enjoyed her new routine in her new home. She looked forward to waking up every morning, found joy in all her chores, and never once felt as if Perry or Mrs. Adams was ever taking advantage of her.
Compared to the work she had been forced to do at Frank’s house, the housework at Perry’s seemed like an absolute pleasure. She even started tending to the farm dogs and collecting eggs that the chickens had laid in the morning. She found that she rather enjoyed life on a ranch. It was strenuous work, but she found that she slept better after she exhausted herself all day.
Perry was also rather impressed by her work ethic. He continually asked her if she was all right, if she was eating enough, getting enough sleep. When she told him time and time again that she was perfectly fine, that she had spent a good deal of her childhood taking care of her family’s home after her mother passed away, he slowly started to understand.
She received letters back from both Katherine and Tessa.
Katherine was a jumble of emotions. Terrified, overjoyed, curious, and anxious. She didn’t quite say it, but she implied that she had warned her that she was making a mistake. She couldn’t believe that she had escaped from such a despicable man, and she insisted that she come home to Pennsylvania, just as Anne had expected. She said she wouldn’t be able to rest until she knew that Anne was safe.
Anne had sent a letter just a few days after her first one, insisting that she was fine and telling her about Perry fixing up the barn. When he had offered her a job and given he
r the room in the house, she had written another letter. She was still waiting on the reply from that.
Tessa, however, since she was so close, had sent her a letter of praise for being able to get out of such a place. However, most of her letter focused on Perry, and what sort of relationship was developing between him and Anne.
Anne insisted it was nothing more than him offering her a job, but there was a small worm of doubt in her mind that reminded her that two people now had said the same thing to her: Perry must certainly be interested.
She also asked if she could come and see her on the ranch, as she was so close. Anne made sure to ask Perry if it was all right.
“Of course, your friend may visit,” he said. “Why did you feel the need to ask me?”
“Well, because it is your home, after all,” she replied. “I did not think you would appreciate uninvited guests.”
He laughed. “Well, it is just as much your home as mine,” he said. “I would very much like to meet this friend of yours. Tell her she is welcome anytime.”
Tessa planned to arrive just a few days later, after corresponding with Anne, who was overjoyed to have a friend visit.
When she arrived, Anne was waiting for her outside the house, wearing one of the dresses that Perry had purchased for her. She thanked Mrs. Adams, who had insisted that she should thank Perry. She didn’t know how to thank him, so eventually, she decided to write a short letter and stick it underneath his door one night so that she didn’t have to face him. He had done far too much for her, and she didn’t know how she could thank him with words alone.
He never mentioned the letter, but she caught him smiling at her more often.
“It is wonderful to see you,” Tessa said, throwing her arms around Anne.
Anne, who was very surprised by such forward affection, hesitated for only a moment before reciprocating.
Tessa pulled away and searched Anne’s face.
“You are not hurt, right?” she asked. She searched her all over, even walking around her back.
“It has been weeks, Tessa. The mark across my face has healed.”
Tessa furrowed her brow.
“What an awful, wicked man,” she said hotly. “There are no words great enough to describe my anger toward him.”
“That makes two of us,” came Perry’s voice from around the corner.
He was wiping his hands off on a dirty rag. Anne’s heart skipped a beat when she saw him, just as it always did. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing his muscled forearms, and his face was pink from being in the warm sun all morning.
He attempted to wipe some dirt from his face, but was unsuccessful, simply trailing more dirt from the back of his hand.
He crossed over to the women and held his hand out to Tessa. “You must be Anne’s friend,” he said. “I’m Perry Arnold.”
She took it, giving him a very pleased sort of smile. “That I am, Tessa Watkins,” she said. “Thank you for allowing me to stay at your home.”
Perry shot Anne a look and laughed. “I already told Anne that this is just as much her home, as well. Her guests are my guests.”
“My, so hospitable,” she said. “Mr. Arnold, I cannot thank you enough for taking care of my friend and allowing her to escape that wretched situation.”
“I would have rescued her sooner had I known…,” he said. “I’m grateful that she chose my barn to sleep in that night.”
Anne blushed.
“Well, you certainly were her knight in shining armor,” Tessa said with a wide grin.
Anne gave her a wide-eyed look.
Perry laughed. “I’m not so sure about all that, but it has certainly been a pleasure having her around.”
He sighed heavily as Tessa gave Anne a knowing look beneath her hat.
“Well, ladies, I will let you enjoy your time together. I need to grab something to eat and then head on back to the barn.”
And with that, he stepped passed them and into the house, ready to grab something for lunch.
“I left some bread and some apples on the table for you,” Anne called after him. “I moved the honey jar to the top left shelf, so it would be out of the sun.”
“Thank you!” he called.
Anne closed the door behind him.
Tessa grinned at her.
“What is that look for?” Anne asked.
“Oh, he might as well just propose to you already,” Tessa replied, rolling her eyes. “It is absolutely obvious that he is mad for you.”
Anne blushed even more furiously. “You are just imagining things.”
Tessa put her hands on her hips. “Why are you so resistant to the idea?”
“I’m not resistant,” Anne said slowly. “He gave me a place to live and an honest job with honest pay. It would be a disservice to assume anything that isn’t happening between us.”
“Why?” Tessa asked, pointedly. “Who is it harming to ask these sorts of questions, hmm? What if you miss a great opportunity because you were too afraid to take a chance?”
“If he were interested, he would have said as much by now,” Anne said.
“Not if he is concerned about the experience that you just went through,” Tessa replied frankly. “It was traumatic, and it had everything to do with the fact that you came all this way to Texas to get married. The idea of marriage might very well frighten you away again, or at least that is what he could be thinking.”
“The idea of marriage isn’t frightening,” Anne replied. “It’s losing what I have made for myself here that frightens me. And if I were to step over that line, even to allow myself to think those things”—she frowned—“I worry that it would ruin everything.”
Tessa studied Anne for a moment and then sighed.
“I suppose I understand,” she said, and then she brightened. “But I am convinced, just as you said Perry’s other caretaker is, that he hopes to make you his own wife.”
Anne remained silent.
“You cannot tell me that you don’t care for the idea,” Tessa said. “How could you not? A man as handsome and kind as he is…any woman would be happy to be his wife.”
Anne’s gulped.
“Which is why he would never think twice about a woman as lowly as myself,” she said.
Tessa tugged on the sleeve of Anne’s new dress. “Lowly? This is a fine dress you are wearing. How could you consider yourself lowly in this?”
Anne sighed, exasperated, already knowing what Tessa would say. “He bought me this dress, and a few others, after I mentioned that I had left most of my belongings at Frank’s cabin,” she trailed off. “It wasn’t as if I had much to begin with anyway.”
Tessa laughed out loud, and Anne frowned.
“This all but proves my suspicions are correct,” Tessa said. “Come along, there is one last thing I wish to see—”
“No, wait—” Anne began, but Tessa had grabbed her by the wrist and had pulled her inside the house.
“Where would Perry be?” Tessa asked.
“I don’t know,” Anne replied. “Why don’t we go to the sitting room—”
While the farmhouse was rather large, it didn’t take Tessa long to discover the kitchen’s location near the back of the house.
But Perry was not there. He must have taken his food and left.
Anne breathed a sigh of relief.
Tessa frowned. “Oh well. I suppose I can ask him later.”
“What did you mean to ask him?” Anne asked.
Tessa’s eyes gleamed. “Whether or not he was engaged to anyone.”
Anne felt all of the color drain from her face. “Now, Tessa, I don’t think that is exactly appropriate.”
Tessa waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to ask him outright. Besides, you likely would have heard some mention of a fiancée. Likely, you would have seen her. But…nothing has been said?”
“Nothing,” Anne replied.
“Hmm,” Tessa said, tapping her chin. �
�Well, I suppose it is only a matter of time. Something will happen that will cause him to come forward. It’s just going to take a little tip in that direction.”
Tessa and Anne had a wonderful afternoon together, talking and becoming better friends. Tessa told Anne all about her brother and his business, and Anne shared stories from occurrences on the ranch.
She showed Tessa the room that Perry had given her, and Tessa’s mouth fell open.
“It’s…enormous,” she said, stepping inside, and spinning all the way around. “Look at this. My…I wonder why he never offered this sort of job to anyone else…I wonder if he was just hoping for an excuse for you to stay.”
Anne dismissed the idea forcefully. She had to be wise. Assuming anything like that could mean the end of her job. And she liked it far too much.
She liked Perry far too much.
That evening, they all gathered around the table for dinner. Tessa helped Anne prepare a sumptuous stew, paired with a fresh loaf of bread, stewed tomatoes, and fresh cream with berries for a dessert.
Anne loved that she was able to make so many delicious meals, all with Perry’s wholehearted agreement.
“So, Anne,” Tessa asked, as the three of them sat down together for dinner.
The candles flickered merrily in the middle of the table and in the brackets on the walls.
She leaned across the table, giving Anne a feisty sort of grin.
“What are you plans?”
Anne stared at her. Was she really going to instigate this sort of conversation, right in front of Perry?
Perry seemed mildly interested, as he lifted a stewed tomato to his mouth, glancing over at her.
“I—” Anne began. “Oh, I don’t… Perhaps I will—”
“I was hoping that you might stay around here for a while,” Perry said. “I’m sure you miss your family back in Pennsylvania, but I have grown rather fond of your cooking…” he said, and then more quietly, “…and your company.”
Tessa shot a fiercely mischievous look across at Anne, raising her eyebrows for the briefest moment.
“Oh, Perry, I have no intention of leaving,” she said. “I am far too fond of this job, of what you have done for me. It would be—”
