by Kari Trumbo
Seraphina turned up her lips slightly in a mysterious and distant smile. “That would depend on whom you ask. You are not safe from the judgment of others if they find out you’re consorting with the likes of the witch.” With that, she stood and strode back into the woods.
She held her breath and searched across the river for any movement, her heart throbbed in her chest and she was terrified to move. She blinked slowly and then she saw him. A man stood on the other bank, completely still. He was largely naked, but for a loincloth of animal skin, and paint covered most of him. Her heart stuttered, and she swallowed a scream. If she screamed, everyone would know where she’d been. If she ran, would he follow her?
She closed her eyes and prayed for the answer as she shook like a leaf. When she opened them again, he was gone.
Chapter 12
After the scare by the river, Lenora wanted to stay abed and hide, but if she was going to go work with Pati, she had to get up before the sun rose and get both breakfast and the noon meal made. As quietly as possible, Lenora dressed and prepared biscuits, lifted the stew from the night before to the back of the stove, and finally sliced some cheese her family could eat if they found nothing else palatable. She ate her little portion and then covered and left the rest for the others.
The morning was fresh and bright, but it would be sweltering in a few hours, especially over her boiling water. She reminded herself to be thankful. She would earn more than her father had offered. It was a job and it had to be done, so she took a moment to thank the Lord that it was available to her.
Unfortunately for her, the day before, she’d had to refresh her water after each bundle of clothes, because the miners got them so dirty that the water was black when she finished. She’d had to use so much soap to get them clean that her hands might never be the same.
Pati sat outside her little shop in the warmth of the morning sun, her dark hair blew in short wisps about her ears and a soft smile rested on her face as she ironed some fabric. Sounds came from all over the small town and Pati would look up every few moments to watch them. The people of Blessings had all come out once the rain let up to enjoy the end of spring sunshine.
“Good morning, Lenora. Though you’d said you would, I wasn’t sure if you’d return.”
Lenora pursed her lips for a moment to think about what to say. Pati was the only woman in the town, besides Seraphina, who had taken any interest in her, and she didn’t want to stand in the way of a friendship. But she had said she would be back. Though Pati also understood how hard the work was to be done.
“I promised you I would, and so I am. I will need to work faster today, though. My father was displeased with the tardiness of my arrival home yesterday. Though, it was partly due to the short walk I took after leaving here. They expected me home before I left yesterday, and I’m concerned my father will not allow me to continue if I don’t.”
Pati quirked a smile. “Took a short walk? Did you see anything that particularly interested you?” She ignored everything else Lenora had said, that was just work. Pati would let her leave when it was necessary.
Heat raced up Lenora’s neck. Victor certainly was of interest, but she wasn’t quite ready to share Victor yet.
Pati’s eyes widened as she took in Lenora’s face and gave a slight chuckle. “Oh my, you must have found something worth looking at … or perhaps, someone?”
Lenora took a deep breath and let it go. “I think I’ll see to the wash.”
Pati’s laugh was soft, like the whisper of leaves through the trees, but Lenora couldn’t tell her yet. It was difficult enough to admit to herself what she felt.
“You don’t have any wash to do. You did it all yesterday and most of it is still waiting for the miners to pick up. I have no new bundles. How are your hands, able to do some embroidery today?”
Her hands were far from fine, but she’d do whatever task she was given.
“Do I need to deliver the laundry to the men?” Would that be required of her after washing it? It seemed silly to have rushed to get it all done, then let it sit there.
Pati’s eyes went wide for a moment and she shook her head. “No, why would I send you to the workman’s tent area? Blessings might be the safest boomtown I’ve seen, but there are some things you just don’t do. And one of them is, you don’t tempt a man with a steak when he’d be satisfied with a bone. They can come and get their laundry and pay you right here.” She pointed decisively in front of her.
Going down to the tent and shanty city near the mines where the miners who hadn’t rented plots lived could be dangerous. They seemed harmless, but she didn’t know any of them. She’d seen them come into the land office with samples or to inquire about land of their own. Sometimes they wandered down the street to the saloon at the other end of town. Many of them would work for a time in the mines, making what they could in a few short weeks, then leave. Because they were so transient, she feared them; they had no sense of home nor pride in the little town.
Lenora picked up a pair of intricately embroidered drawers from within the basket at Pati’s feet. She couldn’t imagine who in the town would wear such a garment, but she wasn’t about to ask. She examined the pattern that had been started, then threaded a needle from Pati’s basket, and they both sat in silence while they worked.
A shadow crossed over Lenora’s face and she glanced up as Victor trudged toward them, his gaze was intense and directed right at her. After their last meeting, she wanted to run into the shack to avoid him altogether, but her feet wouldn’t budge. Her heart wanted what it couldn’t have: Victor.
“Good morning, Mrs. Jones. I’ve come to order a special handkerchief. Very intricate. Only the best will do, with stitching that will stay fast. I don’t want it coming loose, no matter how much it’s washed.” He turned his green eyes to Lenora with such intensity it stole her breath. “I need the imprint to last a lifetime.”
Lenora dropped the drawers back into the basket and held tight to the chair. He wouldn’t just take her in the middle of the day, right next to the sheriff’s wife, with anyone listening who might hear her scream, would he?
“Good morning, Lenora.” He let his English lilt surround her name and Pati gasped.
“I had no idea you were from England. I’d know that accent anywhere.”
Lenora didn’t want to think about his accent or where he’d rather be. She focused instead on the basket of embroidery between her and Pati and wondered how they would ever get to all of it. If she focused hard enough, she could almost forget the most handsome man in creation stood just a few feet from her.
Victor seemed to press ever closer and the nearer he got, the more her heart raced.
“How are your hands today, love?” he whispered, as Pati set her work aside to look at what Victor had in mind.
“They are working well,” she lied. Truthfully, they were sore, and she was thankful they wouldn’t have to go near the lye soap for at least one whole day.
“If it’s all right, Mrs. Jones, I’d like Miss Farnsworth to do the job.”
Pati laughed. “That’s fine, all the things in my basket here were just mine, so yours will be paying work. You pay her whatever she thinks is fair.”
Victor smiled at Pati and gave her a swift, “Yes ma’am.” Then he turned to Lenora, with eyes as penetrating as the summer sun.
“Might we go inside for a moment, so I can show you what I’ve drawn out?”
Her fingers trembled with the strain of holding onto the chair. He had no business looking at her like that, how could she stay away from him if he didn’t stop?
“I think I’d rather stay out in the sun, if you don’t mind. I can see better.” And it would be more difficult to scoop me up and run…
“Lenora, you’re shaking…”
He knelt in front of her chair and glanced up at her with his far too handsome green eyes. She would not submit; those eyes and smooth words had tamed too many women.
She swallowed her fear an
d forced herself to release the chair. “What have you drawn, Mr. Abernathy?”
Confusion flitted over his face for a moment as he slid a small slip of paper from his pocket. On it, he’d written the initials VLA in pretty calligraphy.
“Do you think you can create that for me?”
That wouldn’t be a problem, the design was not all that difficult.
“What color would you like it?” she whispered, unable to find her voice.
“I want the V for Victor the same blue as your eyes. Like that of ocean waves on a bright sunny day. The L for Laurence, a perfect rose, like your lips. And the A should be as black, shiny, and soft as the ebony of your hair. Can you do that, Lenora, for me?”
Her heart couldn’t keep up with itself and her head swam. Though Pati sat in silence next to her, she could feel her new friend’s discomfort.
“I can,” Lenora squeaked. “I wouldn’t begin to know what to charge for such an item.”
She prayed that Pati would give the answer for her, to stop some of the tension building between them.
Victor handed Pati the sheet and she quoted him what felt like an exorbitant price of three dollars.
He stood and held out his hand to shake on the agreement. It felt like a trap, like he was looking for a reason to touch her again, to enflame all her senses, but she could resist it no more than she could’ve resisted the urge to seek him out the evening before. She was lost.
As he took her hand in his, he gave it a proper shake, then drew her knuckles to his lips and kissed each one as he stared at her. sending a pleasant tremor up her arm with each one.
“I will check on the progress tomorrow. Good day, ladies.” He tipped his hat and left.
“My, it’s become rather warm.” Pati fanned herself with Victor’s drawing and tugged on her high collar.
Lenora had never felt such inner confusion. She desired Victor but wanted him to stay away, to stave off the hurt. Part of her wanted him to whisk her off to England, but a ship was terrifying, even more than a new country, a world away.
“Warm, yes. I think we’re in for a hot spell.”
Victor felt closer to his old self than he’d been in months, which was both pleasant, and not. The old Victor didn’t stand a chance with Lenora or her father. But hadn’t he just bested her father and his admonishment? Hadn’t he found a way to see Lenora that was perfectly benign in every way? Well, perhaps not completely harmless. He hadn’t been able to help getting a little closer to her than was strictly necessary. But with her ready response to him, how could he help it?
Her trembling was disconcerting though, not the reaction he’d expected at all. In all their dealings over the last many months, Lenora had always been strong, a ready and spirited response on her lips that had forced him to parry back. But today, there had been fear in those blue eyes and he wouldn’t have that. Lenora need never fear him. He would have to try to hold himself in check better, to regain the comfort. He’d gone too far, and it had frightened her. He would take as much time as needed to woo her properly. Now that he had the livery, if he must he could take all the time in the world. He’d still not heard from his father, and he didn’t even know if his return would be welcome.
All that was left to do on the livery was the paint, and they were waiting on Mr. Mosier to deliver the paint and painting supplies. Mr. Mosier brought goods from the coast, along with the mail for Blessings. Often, when letters came for the miners, they would be handed out to those who were still there. The remaining missives, usually for miners who had moved on, were put in a sack to be returned to San Francisco or Culloma when Mr. Mosier travelled there again.
Victor had yet to hear from his family, but that was not unexpected. He’d run away, like a beaten dog, so he could supposedly learn to value money. Wouldn’t they be surprised to learn he valued money even less now. But if they never wrote, asking him of his progress, could he tarry longer, even forever? Every last moment with the lovely Lenora was cause for savoring.
Since the livery was almost finished, yet they couldn’t open, he and Cort had decided to take a few days to set up their home in the loft, make sure the right people knew about the tent in the woods and that it was by invitation alone.
They had decided to make their establishment for men only. Everyone had thought that was a lark, because most women didn’t drink or gamble, at least not out in public, but it was a rule none the less.
His evenings would change once Lenora was part of his life. He wouldn’t be able to stay with Cort at the livery, nor could he continue to help run the gambling tent. But did it matter? If he no longer needed the money of the winnings, could he give it up? There was always the looming mystery of whether his family still needed him, or even wanted him. If they didn’t, was he free?
Would Lenora approve of his tent activities? And what would she do while he was away running the gambling business? She couldn’t join him there, not that she would want to, but how would she spend an evening without him? Would it bore her to be alone? He didn’t know. They had spent so much time seeking out each other’s company that he didn’t know what she did when he wasn’t with her. Even after a week on the trail with her, she’d done little more than sit there and listen. When he visited her the next day to check on the progress of his handkerchief, he’d have to find out. He had to know. It was just another mystery about his Lenora to solve.
Chapter 13
It had taken her the entire day, but she’d finished Victor’s kerchief. It now sat, pressed and ready, on the table with the finished laundry. Pati hemmed a skirt and hummed a tune as she worked, and Lenora ported the water to heat for her one and only load of wash that day.
Victor would stop by, soon. He had to. If she spent the whole day looking over her shoulder, waiting for him, it would take her all day to complete the one set of clothes. She’d taken leave of her senses for sure. But the question remained, if he really wanted to nab her and take her to England … why hadn’t he? Was his lack of gold the only thing keeping her in Blessings? If that was the case, the mine could never hire him, nor could her father ever rent him a plot.
He wouldn’t be able to nab her when she wasn’t at work, as he would have to get by both her father and Geoff to get to her. That meant she had to stay watchful while at work. But if he did try, would she fight it? Blessings was home, but was it home because she wanted to be there, or was it home because she’d never known it without Victor? With her family so torn, her small group of acquaintances in Millie, Pati, and Victor, were all that kept her there, and Victor took the lion’s share.
She prepared all her tools as the water set to boiling. She slowly put each piece from the laundry bundle into the pot, using a large wooden paddle to stir all of the clothes around. That would help get some of the mud off the hems of the trousers and thick grime from the sleeves. The soaking was hot and difficult, and the stirring was strenuous work, but much better than the next step, which was where she used the lye and scrubbed all the stains out.
After an hour of scrubbing, the miner’s shirt and drawers were washed and drying on the line as Lenora worked to get the trousers spotless. Sweat trickled down her neck when Pati called, “Good day, Mr. Abernathy. Your handkerchief is waiting inside.”
Startled, Lenora’s gaze shot up, landing on Victor in a pair of snug trousers that accentuated the lean muscles of his legs, his linen shirt had come untucked with the work of the day, and he’d unbuttoned the top few buttons. Lord, why did he have to be so handsome when she felt so humbled? Lenora’s hands were sore and raw once again, and Victor was the last person she wanted to see when she was holding back tears. But if she stopped what she was doing, she might never convince herself to finish the job.
Victor stood and talked to Pati for a moment, but she couldn’t hear what they said. He examined the handkerchief, and pride swelled in her chest as he ran his thumb over the embroidered letters. He nodded to Pati then glanced over to her. After being caught staring, she set back to doi
ng her work, dropping the soap in the water.
“Good afternoon, love. Splendid work for me, thank you.” He held out the money and she stood to accept it, running her dripping hands down her apron first. His fingertips brushed her palm as he slipped the coins to her. She counted it quickly, as it felt too heavy to be correct.
“Wait, Victor… This is double the amount. I can’t take this.” She tried to hand it back to him, but he gently closed her stiff fingers around the coins.
“Yes, I need you to make another one, to keep you out of that horrid water. You don’t have to have it finished by tomorrow, though, I may stop by to check how you’re coming on. With the stitching, of course.” He smiled one of his devilishly handsome grins that made her stomach do an elated flip.
“Of course. You aren’t allowed to come see me.” She played along with his game, understanding that this was how he planned to continue visiting her. Just how many kerchiefs did one man need, though? She would have to slow down in her embroidery or risk taking all his money.
“And when you have a drawer full of these, worth more per ounce than gold, what will you do then?”
His smile deepened, and his green eyes popped with mirth. “I’ll think of something else. Maybe I’ll offer you a job at the livery. At least if I’m going to pay so heartily, I should be able to see you all day. I don’t enjoy cooking. Maybe I could hire you to cook meals for Cort and I. Then again, if I had you about all day, I might find it difficult to let you go.”
The more time she spent with him, the less she wanted him to leave, but she dared not even hope for that.
He leaned in closer, his breath fanning the hair by her ear. “I want you to make an honest man of me, Lenora. No one can do it, but you. I’ve tired of thinking of lesser women, chasing them about as if they matter. No one matters but you, love. I won’t make you answer me today, but soon. I’m not a man who likes to wait.”