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water like there was no tomorrow.
    And even doing all that, Meri had managed to put together a dinner as good as Mrs. Spratt’s in town. He was beginning to think that whoever had sent her that letter had done him a world of good. If only he was the sort of man who could marry her.
    They made eye contact, across the table, and Meri lost her teasing grin. He’d done that to her; made her face go all serious like that. Nothing like her smile earlier. The smile he knew he’d remember during the long nights after she left. Just like he’d imagined a woman like her for nine years’ worth of long nights.
    He cleared his throat, desperate to find a way to make her smile again. “So, you’re a doctor? Not a cook? ‘Cause this stew is delicious.”
    “Thank you.” She blushed, but didn’t look away when he took another bite and chewed with relish. “I wanted to be a doctor, but women couldn’t study medicine. But then I found out about the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, so I begged my father to let me attend. I wanted to help the women and children who lived in my hometown.” She picked at her stew. “But I didn’t finish the program.”
    “You dropped out and decided to get married?” he asked, around a mouthful of potatoes. He knew he was being rude, pushing her like that. It just didn’t really matter to him, if it meant he could find out more about her.
    “No, I…” She took a hasty bite, and swallowed. He could tell it was just to give herself time to think, so he kept quiet and shoveled another spoonful of the potatoes into his mouth. “It wasn’t always safe for a woman, living alone in the city.” That was an understatement, he could tell. “I decided that I’d learned what I needed, and that I didn’t need to become a doctor.”
    He nodded, and picked up the wooden spoon from the floor where Zelle had thrown it. Wiping it off on his shirt, he handed it back to his princess. “So how come you didn’t go back home and practice what you’d learned?”
    “My father had died, and I’d realized that, even if the city wasn’t safe for a woman alone, the small towns were worse. I couldn’t practice medicine—couldn’t help the women and children I wanted to help—on my own. It was Lettie’s idea for me to get married.”
    “Lettie?” The storm still howled outside, but it didn’t seem to matter. He was totally engrossed in her past, even the stuff she wasn’t saying. He’d never met a woman who he’d found this interesting . Was it just because she’d come out here to be his wife? Or because of who she was?
    “Lettie was my best friend at the school. She’s going to be a fine doctor someday.” Tearing apart one of her biscuits, Meri methodically dropped the pieces into the stew. “She pointed out that female doctors—even nurses—have better luck practicing their art when they’re married to medical men who support their work. But I knew I didn’t want to work in the city, so I started looking…”
    “Looking for what?” When had he stopped eating?
    “For a husband.”
    More than anything, at that moment, he wanted to reach across the table and take her hand in his. Instead, he took a big bite of the stew, and said around it, “A doctor?”
    His houseguest sure had a backbone, he’d give her that. She sniffed and lifted her chin, and he figured he’d offended her with his manners. Or lack of them. “Away from the city. Who was devoted to medicine and helping others. Who would support me in my work, too.”
    He wasn’t a doctor. He wasn’t anywhere close to being who she wanted. He didn’t give a hoot about anything besides keeping Zelle safe. “And that’s what you think you want?” He chewed, not caring if he was being rude.
    “I want a civilized man. A man who reads books. Who enjoys books and can talk about them. Who uses his brain, and not just his brawn.” He watched her fingers tighten around the spoon as she eyed his shoulders. “I