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have a history with you.”
    “You needn’t stop learning just because you’re back in Angelina County,” her mother chided.
    Deborah couldn’t suppress a yawn. “I suppose you’re right.”
    “I’m also right in suggesting that you need to go to bed. I want you and Lizzie to sleep as long as you can in the morning. Don’t you even think about getting out of bed before eight.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” She grinned. “I doubt you could rouse me before then.” Deborah got to her feet. “At least it’s cooled off enough for sleeping.”
    “Oh, I forgot to mention that Mr. and Mrs. Perkins are coming to dinner tomorrow night. There’s some sort of business to discuss with Arjan, so you’ll probably want to be available for that. The girls are coming, too, so you can introduce Lizzie to them.”
    “Maybe with all the ladies at the table, G. W. will have more to think of than his misplaced guilt.”
    Her mother nodded and slapped at another mosquito. “Perhaps, but you let G. W. make his own choices. Nothing’s worse than being thrown into the arms of a person you’d just as soon avoid. From what you’ve told me, your friend Lizzie’s situation should have proven that, if nothing else. G. W.’s heart will lead him to love when the time is right.”
    “I just hope he’s not too focused on what isn’t true, and misses what is.”
    Her mother got to her feet and embraced Deborah. “Then we’ll just have to pray that his mind is clear.”
    –––––––
    Lizzie studied the small room from the edge of her bed. Deborah had warned her that things would be different, but it felt as if she’d stepped into another world completely. The walls had been papered with a delicate print of violet sprigs entwined with white ribbons, while a simple braided rug adorned the oak floor between the two iron-framed beds. Homemade muslin curtains hung at the windows and decidedly feminine quilts covered the beds.
    The door slowly opened and Deborah peered around it into the room. “Oh, I was afraid you were already asleep.”
    “I thought about it,” Lizzie admitted. “I’m very tired, but I wanted to make sure everything was all right with your family. I mean, what with me coming unannounced.”
    Deborah entered the room and closed the door behind her. “Of course it’s all right. Mother is delighted to have you here.” She began to undress. “I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if she doesn’t have you canning and working in the garden before noon tomorrow. I told her you wanted to learn how to be more self-sufficient, domestically speaking.”
    Lizzie smiled. “I’m glad. Do you know that I’ve never had to cook for myself? I can honestly say that I would like to learn.”
    “Then you’ve come to the right place. My mother is a wonderful cook and a superb teacher. She learned a lot from Sissy, and I’m sure together they will be more than delighted to help you.”
    “Was Sissy a slave?”
    Deborah nodded and pulled pins from her long dark hair. “She was, but she and Mother were close and she came here when my grandparents came to stay with us during the war. My mother hired her on to work at our house when my grandparents went back to Georgia after the war. I doubt Mama would have hired anyone, but Sissy was sickly and needed help. She was too proud for charity, so my mother suggested Sissy teach her to cook. That way, Mother did a lot of the work, while Sissy recovered her health. It worked well.”
    “Your mother is such a gracious lady. She seems so innocent at times – yet so knowledgeable.”
    “She’s not highly educated. She attended school until she married my father when she was sixteen. But she always loved learning and regretted to a degree that she could not continue her education. Of course, women were even less encouraged to seek out schooling back then than they are now.”
    “Still, she seems very happy with her house and family. I wish my own mother might have shared such