“Opal, please. I have a bedroll for when I travel or go hunting. I am happy to set that up in the corner while you take the bed. Lady, whom you met earlier, likes to sleep with me so she’ll keep my feet plenty warm. What sort of gentleman would I be if I turned you back out into this cold night?”
She was unaccustomed to kindness, least of all from a white man who was obviously well off, with his house and ranch and farm.
“Please, Opal, I insist.”
She nodded mutely, still nervous about what exactly he was implying or offering.
He carefully put out the fire in the stove, and dug out the bedroll from underneath the bed. It fit perfectly into the corner behind the stove, and Lady immediately curled up at the foot of it.
He laughed and pointed, “See? She’s ready to go.”
Opal perched on the edge of the bed, still completely baffled by the sudden, literally overnight, turn in her circumstances. Last night she had been near starving and sleeping under the bushes. And this evening, she had just been well fed by this man, and was about to sleep on her first real bed in nearly a year. As soon as her head found the pillow, she was unconscious.
William smiled and shook his head. He warmed up his coffee and took it back outside to sit in his rocking chair and ponder the change that had just entered his household. Something told him it was more than a happenstance and that he needed to pay attention to what was happening and what was about to happen. After he downed the last cup of coffee for the evening, he tucked himself into the bedroll and slipped his feet under Lady’s warm body.
The next morning, Opal woke up to the smell of coffee and fried eggs with fried bread. She pulled herself away from the warm soft bed and rubbed her face sleepily, trying to discern whether what she was seeing was still a dream or was it reality. William smiled politely as she wrapped the old horse blanket around herself and made her way across the room to the table for breakfast. The heat from the stove and the smell of the food were both irresistible. He poured her a cup of strong black coffee and watched with a smile as she wrapped her delicate fingers around the warm metal.
“I have a proposal,” William started, hoping she would not read more into his idea than he intended.
Chapter Five
Opal blinked at him blankly, having no idea how he was going to finish this thought process.
“I am hoping you would be willing to stay on with me. I could always use another pair of hands around the house and the farm, and it would appear you need a place to stay.”
She looked down at her hands in her lap. What have I gotten myself into? I’ve come all this way only to end up in the same position I ran away from.
“I am happy to offer you food and a place to sleep, and we can even get you some winter clothing from the general store in town, but I can only afford to pay you a couple of dollars a month. I hope that’s okay.”
“Like an employee you mean, sir?” She had said so little since her arrival, he had already forgotten the sound of her Southern drawl tinged with some sort of island flavor.
“Yes, something like that. I can even try to build a wall in here so that we both have a little more privacy in the house.”
Her mouth fell open in surprise. He was not implying what she had assumed; he meant to hire her onto his farm. She might not own the place, but she would be able to tend the animals and garden and have a place to live. Not quite as an equal but not a piece of property either.
William’s laugh filled the small house. “Is that a yes then?”
“Y-Y-Yes, sir. I take the job.”
“Alrighty then!” His deep voice boomed out his approval, clapping his hands in emphasis.
“We are quickly running out of time to get to town easily. The first snow will be here in the next week or so, and I was thinking we should get into town today or tomorrow while we can. What do you think?”
“O-O-Ok, sir.”
He nodded, satisfied that she had accepted his offer without a fight. He really could use an extra set of hands despite the extra mouth to feed, and she seemed quite capable. And with the Southern drawl, he suspected that she had worked in the past, wherever she had come from.
As she ate her breakfast, Opal watched William out of the corner of her eye. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with deep blue eyes and a tanned face. His dark hair was shaggy but clean. He carried himself and spoke like an educated man, but he seemed perfectly at home riding his horse here on the ranch or even frying eggs over a wood-burning stove. Perhaps it was the kindness he had been showing her or perhaps it was the laughter in his eyes, but she found him more than slightly attractive.
“So… into town today?” she asked around a mouthful of food.
“Well, we don’t want the snow to take us by surprise. I think you’ll need some warmer clothing for the winters here, and we can always use more stock food. I have some but the winters can get cold and long around here.”
She nodded, afraid of going into town after her recent visit to “borrow” from the townspeople, but surely William could and would protect her should a situation arise. He did not seem to harbor any ill will or devious intentions.
After they cleaned up from breakfast, he loaned her an old coat to replace the blanket she had been using. When she slipped the blanket off of her shoulders and folded it carefully onto the bed, he could not help but notice the way her figure filled out the simple dress, but he turned away out of respect. He had no intentions of giving her the wrong idea, and he wanted to maintain as much gentlemanly distance as possible.
They packed up the carriage for the ride into town. Lady jumped up eagerly, and William did not have the heart to decline her the outing. The ride took a couple of hours, and Opal marveled that it had taken her two entire nights to travel the distance on foot. Once they arrived, William assured her that he would not stop into the saloon, but that they would only visit the general store. He did admit that he planned to buy a bottle of whiskey to help keep him warm through the winter.
She had never been inside a general store before, and marveled at all of the items for sale. There were beautiful dresses and warm coats and sewing supplies; hunting rifles and ammunition; fancy soaps and medicines; camping equipment; and more food than she had ever seen in one place in her life including delicious-looking hard candies and chocolates.
William took a step back and watched her stare in amazement at the options. He smiled as she fingered the beautiful dresses and sniffed at the soaps. The shopkeeper scrutinized her thoroughly, but said nothing since she was accompanying him and he was a frequent cash paying customer.
He strolled casually over the store owner and started providing his list of shopping needs.
“Don’t fret Samuel, I brought the carriage and intend to leave with it full. I might not be back ‘til spring and I have a new mouth to feed.”
Samuel’s eyebrows shot up, but he said nothing.
“Yes sir, William. We will get you taken care of.”
Chapter Six
The young boy who worked in the shop started bringing forward the items that William had listed.
He was not buying many refrigerated items since keeping them cold was sometimes complicated, but he did pick up some fresh fruit and cheese. He focused more on the supplies that would last such as coffee beans, oatmeal, dried beans, rice, and potatoes. He had some canned vegetables from his garden already, and the meat from the cow should last a while. The chickens usually continued to produce eggs through the winter if he could keep them warm enough. Sometimes the cows would also give him milk in the winter so that would help as well.
In addition to stocking the pantry, he also took on ammunition for hunting as well as some basic medical supplies. He joined Opal at the clothing racks and motioned for her to find something better than her threadbare dress. She hesitated to spend the nice man’s money but he seemed very insistent that she find something. She selected a pair of trousers and two button-down shirts.
“Are you sure th
at’s all you need?”
“Y-Y-Yes, sir. This extra coat you gived me fits just fine. If you can spares it.”
“But of course. But why don’t we find you a pair of gloves? I can guarantee none of mine will fit you.” He wiggled his thick fingers and grinned.
She smiled up at him, and selected the cheapest pair she could find. Samuel gave William a long hard look when he placed all of the clothing up on the counter to be rung up with everything else. Looking at Opal one last time, William also grabbed a few pairs of socks and a pair of small work boots to replace her sandals that looked about ready to fall apart.
After he paid the shopkeeper in cash, William strapped down a waterproof tarp over the load in the carriage just to protect it from any elements they could encounter. He politely helped Opal up into the bench seat and was about to climb up himself when a rough punch on his shoulder caught his full attention.
“You there,” the voice said.
“How can I help you?” William replied coldly, not pleased by the soreness in his arm.
“Who’s your girl?”
“Her name is Opal. She works at my farm.”
The man’s hair was greasy and unkempt and his chin wore several days’ worth of beard growth. His beady black eyes narrowed as he stared from William to Opal and back again.
“A man like me starts to wonder about things when a man like you is keeping a colored girl around the house.”
William’s laughing blue eyes had gone ice cold and steel calm.
“A man like you? And a man like me? I’m certain I have no idea what you mean.”
The intruder slowly crept his way around the carriage until he stood next to Opal.
“Keeping a girl around just for you-self? That’s downright a shame not to share. She’s a purdy one.”
Opal tightened her coat around herself and inhaled deeply, holding her breath for William’s answer.
“I don’t keep people, sir. She is my employee and you will treat her with the respect as such.”
The man’s breath smelled of stale whiskey and nasty cigar smoke as he moved closer to study Opal’s face.
“I’ll bet you she’s a runaway.”
“I surely have no idea what you mean.”
William found the entire suggestion reprehensible and desperately wanted to get them out of this man’s eyesight.
“I’d bet she make us a pretty penny at an auction down south.”
William strode over to the man with purpose and straightened his spine to its full 6’3” height. The greasy older man looked up at William’s imposing frame and thought better of making a scene.
“Sir, you need to let us be and move along your way.” The tone in William’s voice and the look in his eye said that there was no room for negotiation in the statement.
The other man slid along the sidewalk away from the carriage, but never took his eyes off of Opal. William walked back around and mounted his side of the bench seat, deliberately resting his rifle across his thighs while he stared down the other man. The man disappeared between the swinging doors of the saloon and Opal finally let her breath out with a whoosh.
William looked over at her, and rested his hand gently on top of hers.
“Please understand, his, ah, viewpoints are rare in these parts. And I personally have no use for that idea.”
Opal blinked back tears but did not trust herself to speak. She simply nodded, and looked off into the distance.
William reached under the bench seat and offered her a blanket to tuck around her knees.
“I meant to take you to the diner here in town. Would you like to get a late lunch before we head back?”
His eyes looked earnest and sincere.
She smiled and nodded. “I’d like that,” she whispered.
He drove the carriage down the street so that he could keep an eye on it, and tied it up again. Opal had never in her life been out to eat a meal and was excited at the prospect. He courteously ushered her inside where the serving girl gave them an odd look but sat them without comment or incident.
“Would you like me to order for us?” William offered.
He ordered two large platters of something called a Ploughman’s Lunch, and her eyes widened when the plates hit the table. They were laden down with smoked ham, cheese, boiled eggs, apples, radishes, a pile of tangy pickles, thick homemade bread, and several condiments such as fresh butter and several jams and chutneys. She softly clapped her hands in delight, and he grinned at her reaction, urging her to dig in.
Chapter Seven
Over the next several days, trying to beat the snow that he could smell in the air, William attacked the wooded area with his ax. If they were about to spend the long dark winter together in the small house, he wanted to put in a wall of sorts so that they could each have their privacy.
Opal tried to stay out of his way as best she could. She played outside with Lady, tended to the chickens, and gave it her best effort to milk the cows. She found that the farm animals responded to her best when she had been wearing her gloves, and took them off right before she touched them. They were not appreciative if she touched them with her cold fingers.
She also busied herself tidying the small living space, and trying to organize all of the supplies and food that they had just bought. There were not a lot of storage options, especially given the fact that William had to have space on the floor to unfurl his bedroll. After the snow finally arrived, some of the food could actually be stored outside and would keep as fresh as possible in the cold but until then, it seemed to be everywhere she turned.
Opal could not handle the noise when he was building inside, so that was when she tended towards playing outside while the weather still permitted. Lady was happy to have a new friend, and seemed to have really taken to Opal. William was pleased that his household seemed to be running efficiently, and he was more than happy to turn over the household duties to her.
In their food order, she had picked up a few spices and was making some very interesting meals thus far. The beans and stews seemed to have more flavor and he could tell she was being as frugal as possible with their supplies. She was not afraid of hard work, and had sometimes offered to help him split the smaller logs as he finished the interior wall.
Once the wall was completed, the house looked quite nice. The divider ran about shoulder high around two sides of the bed as it sat up against the exterior wall. It was more than enough to separate them in the evenings, and would even provide sufficient cover if one of them decided to bathe in the large metal tub that normally sat outside.
About a week after their trip to town, the snow arrived like a silent blanket. For hours, it fell thick and white over everything that Opal could see. Growing up in the deep South, she had never seen anything like it. During that first blizzard, William would find her wrapped in every piece of clothing she owned and standing outside just watching.
“It’s something else, isn’t it?” he asked one evening as he offered her a hot cup of coffee.
She nodded, “I never seen nothing like it.”
“As hard as it makes life out here, I think it’s breathtaking really. I mean, it snowed back home growing up in the city, but it was always dirty and brown and slushy. Out here, it makes everything shine and shimmer like diamonds.”
Lady liked to run around in it, trying to catch the wet snowflakes in her mouth. Both William and Opal found themselves laughing at her antics and she jumped and dodged around the field.
“William?” Opal asked hesitantly.
“Yes?”
“I has a favor to ask,” she almost whispered. It seemed so rude to ask after he had given her so much.
“What is it?”
“We going to be stuck here for a while, right? Together? Nothing to do?”
“Oh there’s always work to be done around here. But yes, mostly stuck here together.”
“Could you help me read better? And talk better?”
He smiled down at he
r upturned face, “I’d like that. I do have a Bible, and a couple of other books. And I’m sure when we make it into town next, we can find others. I’d be happy to teach you.”
Her face beamed with a huge grin. “Thank you, sir, thank you.”
So over the next few months, Opal tended the cows and chickens as best she could and William kept his eye on the herd and the fences. The snow kept coming and kept staying. He was amazed at the meals she managed to create from their limited pantry and she kept the house tidy with a smile on her face.
He had been paying her the few dollars a month as promised, and she kept it tucked away in a small opening in the mattress. She had never had money of her own, and was not sure what she would do with it. Perhaps she would someday have the chance to get him something in return for everything he had given her.
Possessed By The Duke (Regency Romance) Page 44