the local newspaper and to our territorial lawmakers.â
âI hardly expect them to listen to a woman.â There was a thwack, thwack as Henrietta plumped one of the decorative pillows on her best sofa. âBut I will have them know what a danger that contraption is. What newfangled invention will they think up next? I shudder to think of it.â
âWell, you should,â Noelle said as kindly as she could. âWith that dangerous contraption on the loose, do you think we ought to risk another trip to town?â
âIt gives me pause.â Henrietta moved on to pummel another pillow on Uncle Robertâs favorite chair. âI must post these letters of complaint immediately. Noelle, I am sure, poor dear, you are frightened beyond imagining. Perhaps you ought to stay home with Matilda. No sense the two of you endangering your lives. I shall be fine.â
Across the hearth from her, Noelle could hear Matilda struggling to hold back a giggle.
âIâll come with you. Iâd like the fresh air.â Noelle gathered her courage. Driving was a fact of life. She couldnât stay afraid of one thing, because sheâd learned the hard way that fear easily became a habit. It had nearly consumed her after sheâd first gone blind.
âNo, I wonât risk it.â There was that smile in Henriettaâs voice again. âAlthough my trusty mare is now reshod, so we shall not have to take that wild gelding, there is no telling what peril we could meet with.â
âIf thatâs true, then I must come, or Iâll sit here worrying over you the entire time youâre gone.â
âYou are a sweetheart.â Henrietta blew a loud kiss across the room. âNow then, Iâve got my reticule. Itâs a shame about your new winter hat. Perhaps we can find another.â
âThe one I have is serviceable enough.â Noelle carefully anchored her needle in her lacework, so she wouldnât lose any stitches or her place in the pattern, and folded it into the basket beside her chair. The floorboards squeaked beneath her weight as she stood.
âMaybe youâll catch word of the dressmakerâs nephew,â Matilda whispered, sounding a little breathless and dreamy. Perhaps she wasnât aware that her affections for the handsome teamster werenât well hidden. âOr, maybe youâll happen into the strangerâs path again. If heâs new to townâMama didnât recognize him and you know she makes it her business to know everyoneâthen perhaps heâs looking to settle down. Homestead. Marry. He did rescue you. â
âHe stopped a runaway horse, it was nothing personal. Besides, heâs probably already settled down with a wife and kids at home.â But Thad married? She couldnât imagine it. She told herself it wasnât bittersweetness that stung her like an angry hornet as she crossed the room. Because she was steeled to the truth in life. It was best to be practical. She almost said so to Matilda but held back the words.
Once, like her cousin, sheâd been young and filling her hope chest with embroidered pillow slips and a girlâs dreams. Maybe that was a part of the way life went. Maybe she would be a different woman if sheâd been able to hold on to some of those dreams, or at least the belief in them. She reached for her cloak on the third peg of the coat tree.
âGoodness! Iâve never seen such poor manners!â Henrietta burst out and threw open the door so hard, it banged against the stopper. âYou! Young man! Where do you think youâre going? You get back here and do this properly.â
Thad. Noelle knew it was him. Somehow, she knew.
âUh, I didnât want to disturb, maâam.â His baritone sounded friendly and uncertain and manly all at once. âItâs too early to call, but I was on my way to town and didnât want to make a second trip to drop
H.B. Gilmour, Randi Reisfeld