Alice folded her hands in her lap. “Of course. I understand. You’ve been very gracious to allow me the use of your drawing room while I await my brother’s return.” Smoothing her skirts, she relaxed her posture a touch. She mustn’t appear nervous. She needed to remain in the woman’s good graces. Where would she go if Mrs. Davidson put her out before Richard returned? “I’m sure a lady in your position has a good many important tasks that require her personal attention. If there’s any way that I can be of assistance, please do let me know.”
Mrs. Davidson’s shoulders relaxed. “Actually, Miss Stevens, I believe I may be able to help you.”
Alice’s breath caught.
“I’ve just had word from a dear friend that she is still in need of a tutor for her young daughters. Their last tutor left over a week ago and they’ve had a dreadful time finding a suitable replacement.” She paused and tipped her head forward. “You have had educational training?”
“Yes, ma’am.” She nodded so fast her curls flapped against her cheeks. A tutor was a far cry from the position of esteemed craftsman’s wife in San Francisco’s society, but what did it matter if she was going home? No one back east need know the details of her time here. “My family employed an excellent governess, who instructed us in reading and mathematics, as well as the arts, music, and the social graces.”
“Excellent. I thought as much after our conversation at supper last night, which is why I sent a note to my friend this morning inquiring as to whether the position had been filled. I didn’t mention anything to you earlier, as I didn’t want to get your hopes up if the position had, indeed, been filled.”
Were there people who became excited about such menial positions? “That was very considerate of you.”
“The position comes with room and board along with a salary that should earn you sufficient means to return to your beau in three months time, should you still wish to go.”
Now that was something to get excited about! Alice suppressed a squeal. She’d never dreamed it was possible to earn so much in so short a time. “That sounds wonderful.”
Mrs. Davidson lifted a quill from the desk top. “Shall I inform her of your desire for an interview?”
Daniel had let the horse set its own pace down the hill, but as he came in sight of the Coopers’ cabin, he pulled on the reins. Eliza was likely inside helping Maria prepare their dinner. Had Andrew shared Daniel’s change in plans? How had she reacted?
When he’d spoken with Andrew the night before, the man was adamant that Daniel remain until Jim returned. Andrew claimed Jim would be livid if he allowed Daniel to leave without explaining his actions regarding Eliza. Daniel protested that nothing untoward occurred and therefore nothing needed explaining, but Andrew refused to budge. So, Daniel agreed to remain an additional two days, but no more.
He couldn’t wait indefinitely. It wouldn’t be fair to either Alice or Eliza. With that in mind, he’d requested to be the one to head uphill this morning and fell some trees for the corral Andrew wanted to build. It might have made more sense for Andrew to go, as the one more familiar with the area, but the tree line was only a few miles away and Andrew hadn’t questioned Daniel’s request. Daniel suspected the man understood more than he was letting on.
Daniel managed to down three large trees and remove their branches in the space of the morning. The branches he bundled and tied to the horse’s saddle easily enough. However, he was unused to hauling his own timber, so it took some trial and error to get the trunks attached in a way that didn’t interfere with the horse’s gait. He’d had to stop whenever a trunk snagged on a bush or small rock. Thankfully, that didn’t occur too often. The logs were heavy enough, and the slope gentle enough, that there was no risk of them picking up speed and outrunning the horse.
He was almost to the Coopers’ clearing when Andrew stepped out to greet him.
“Any trouble finding the spot I told you about?”
Daniel shook his head. “Your directions were clear enough.”
The door creaked open a second time. Was Eliza behind him, or had Maria come out after Andrew? Daniel resisted the urge to glance back as he led the horse to the edge of the space where Andrew had decided to build the new corral. If Daniel went inside for lunch, he’d see Eliza for sure. “I’ll head back up as soon as I refill my canteen. Figured I’d grab a little of that dried beef you’ve got in the lean-to and eat it on my way up, if you don’t mind.”
Andrew helped him relieve the horse of its burden. “I think it’d be best if you joined us inside.”
Daniel gritted his teeth as he added the bundle of branches to their woodpile. Didn’t Andrew understand his need to avoid Eliza? “I appreciate the invitation, but I’d rather…” Eliza had come outside. She stood near the door, a large man at her side.
The older man’s feet were spread wide, his arms crossed. He appraised Daniel with eyes the same shade of brown as Eliza’s.
Jim.
Daniel ran a hand through his sweaty hair, then wiped it against his thigh. Lord, please let him understand our choices.
Eliza blinked. Daniel’s here. Why didn’t he leave?
Andrew led Daniel across the yard to the cabin. “Mr. Clarke, may I present the man you’ve been anxiously waiting to meet? This is Eliza’s Pa, Jim Brooks.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you at last, Mr. Brooks.” Daniel offered his hand to Pa.
Pa slowly accepted, his gaze hopping from Daniel to Andrew to Eliza, then back to Daniel. “And what brings you way out here, young man?”
Daniel shifted his feet and squared his shoulders. “I escorted your daughter, sir.”
“Escorted her where?” Pa’s brows pinched, then lifted. “Here? You brought her here? Alone?” He spun toward Eliza. “You forget to tell me something, Angel? Like ‘bout you getting married?”
“No, Pa. He’s engaged to someone else.”
Pa’s face grew red as he leaned to within inches of Daniel’s face. “You mean to say you been frolicking about the mountains, alone with my daughter for days, not married, and haven’t any intention of marrying her?”
Ysabel slipped outside to stand beside Pa. She rubbed her belly, a frown marring her face as she took in the scene.
Pa’s hands clenched into fists.
“Pa, wait.” Oh, this was ridiculous! Eliza gripped Pa’s shoulder, but he shook her off.
“Sir…” Daniel’s face grew pale as he took a step back.
Andrew stepped between the two men. “Jim, hold on. Give them a chance to explain.”
“What’s to explain? He’s ruined my daughter! Either he’s going to marry her or I’m—”
“Pa!” Eliza thrust herself in front of Andrew to face Pa. Her hands clamped on her hips. “Enough! I am not ruined and Daniel has done nothing but protect me since—”
“Daniel, is it?” Pa raised his fists and sidestepped to go around her, but Andrew held him back.
“Jim, calm down now. I know it looks bad, and if it is, I promise I’ll help you see it set right, but first let’s let them talk. I can attest that he’s been a true gentleman since they arrived here.”
Pa spit in the dirt. “As if he’d dare act different with others watching. That don’t account for how he’s acted when no one was looking.”
“Pa!” Did he think she had no morals?
Andrew caught Pa’s eye and lowered his voice. “Remember what we’ve been talking about—‘in your anger do not sin.’”
Pa glowered at Andrew for a tense moment. Then he drew a deep breath, held it, and slowly released it as he relaxed his fists. He stared daggers at Daniel over Andrew’s shoulder. “So talk.”
Ysabel placed a hand on Pa’s arm. “Eat first?” She placed her other hand on her belly and looked at her husband with doe eyes.
Pa melted. “Of course, dear.” He took his wife’s hand and led her into the Coopers’ cabin.
Following Pa, Eliza preceded Daniel and Andrew into the cabin.
Pa helped h
is wife take a seat at the table. Then he disappeared outside for a moment and returned with two chairs and two plates. Where had those come from? He placed the chairs at the end of the small table and set the plates before them as Maria put the basket of tortillas and a heaping plate of meat in the center of the table.
Daniel held Eliza’s usual seat, but Pa pulled out the chair beside Ysabel and insisted Eliza sit there instead. She hesitated, then gave Daniel an apologetic shrug before moving to sit where Pa wanted her. After pushing her in, Pa walked around the table to sit beside Daniel, across from his wife. Andrew and Maria occupied the seats Pa had placed at the end.
Andrew said grace. Then they each took a tortilla, onto which Maria scooped a small pile of meat.
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Ysabel spoke again. She waved a hand between Pa and Eliza. “He miss you very much, I think.”
Eliza peeked at Pa, who was glaring at Daniel as he chewed. She smiled at Ysabel. “I’ve missed him as well.”
“Must be hard. Apart so long.”
“Yes.” She considered Pa’s filled-out face. He was truly healthy. “I was worried he’d forget to eat again.”
Andrew guffawed. “That doesn’t seem likely. I’ve never known a man who can eat like your father.”
“You didn’t know him in the gold fields. I couldn’t get him out of the water. If I hadn’t brought him his meals, he’d have keeled over with that pan still in his hands.”
“Not sure how dumping our last beans in the river was supposed to keep me from keeling over.” The mischievous glint in Pa’s eyes, along with his chuckle, removed any sting from the memory.
“It’s not as if I dumped them on purpose.” She crossed her arms in mock offense. “It was that Morgan Channing’s fault. He was always pulling some prank. I don’t think his father ever got a lick of work out of him.”
Pa laughed. “Ain’t that the truth.”
Although the rest of the meal passed in lighthearted conversation filled with anecdotes from Eliza’s childhood and their escapades in the mining camps, there was an underlying tension. Soon, everyone’s plate had been emptied, and Eliza breathed a sigh of thanks when Maria handed her a warm mug of coffee. The hot liquid slid down her throat to her belly, banishing the chill of the cold mountain air. Lord, please help Pa understand our choices.
Pa tipped back his chair, his mug cradled between his hands. He took a long sip then focused on Daniel. “So.”
It was the cue they’d been waiting for. Daniel began by explaining how he’d officially been introduced to Eliza at the Davidsons’ home. Then Eliza pointed out how Daniel had warned her and protected her on the ship when nothing had gone as planned.
Eliza fidgeted as Daniel described the shipwreck and her near drowning.
Pa took her hand. “Thank the Lord you were saved.”
By unspoken agreement, she and Daniel skipped over the steward’s frightening behavior.
Daniel explained searching for Pa in San Diego and how he came to the decision to accompany Eliza into the mountains. “You’ve raised a very independent-minded daughter and she was determined to come to you with or without me.”
Pa lifted a brow at Daniel. “And you decided with you was better.”
“I decided that her safety was more important than her reputation, though I did what I could to protect that as well.”
Daniel explained the precautions they had taken against being seen traveling alone together, and how they’d slept several feet apart each night. He left out the part where they’d nearly been killed in a flash flood, and Eliza didn’t see the point in sharing that part of their journey, either.
Eliza held her breath through the long silence that followed the close of their story.
Pa sat in his chair, sipping his now-cold coffee, staring first at Daniel, and then at Eliza. Finally, he squinted at Daniel. “You say you have a fiancée waiting back east?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What do you think she’ll think of”—he waved his hand in Eliza’s direction—“this?”
“I’m not sure.”
Pa raised one eyebrow.
“Truthfully, I believe she’ll be angry, but I’m hopeful she’ll forgive me.”
“She may not.” Pa took another sip of his coffee. “What you’ve done is hard enough for me to accept and I know how things are here. I know my daughter. Back east, they’re rarely as understanding.”
“True, but—”
“But you chose to stay here and help my daughter.”
“Yes, sir.” Daniel met her gaze across the table.
Her heart leaped to her throat. What was that look in his eyes? Could it be? Was it…?
Daniel lowered his face to his hands. “I couldn’t leave her.”
No. It can’t be love. He doesn’t love me. He loves Alice. He’d intended to leave. Why hadn’t he left? She stared at the top of his head. Look at me. What are you thinking?
He didn’t move.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Care. Concern. The love of a dear friend. That’s all you saw, Eliza. He loves Alice. He is engaged to Alice.
Why wouldn’t her heart listen?
Pa rubbed his chin, drawing her attention. “I see.”
He was silent for another long moment as he studied them. Then he settled all four legs of his chair on the floor and looked Daniel in the eye. “I appreciate your honorable intention to protect my daughter and I’m sorry about your fiancée, but the two of you have still got to marry.” He smacked a hand on the table. “At once.”
Daniel gaped at him. “But sir, I—”
Enough! Eliza slammed both hands onto the table. “How can you ask this? After everything we’ve just told you. After everything Daniel has already sacrificed to protect me, how can you demand that he sacrifice the rest of his life as well?”
Pa held out his hands. “Eliza—”
“No!” Eliza jumped to her feet. Pa didn’t understand. Daniel’s conscience wouldn’t allow him to break his promise to Alice. No matter how it shattered Eliza, he must leave. Why was Pa making it so much worse by teasing her with the thought of keeping him? “No! We have done nothing wrong and I refuse to marry him.” She whirled toward Daniel. “You need to go.” She dug her fingernails into her palms. She would not cry. “Now. This very minute.”
Pa stood, warning in his tone. “Eliza—”
“No!” She shook her head as she backed toward the door. “I won’t do it. I won’t take his life from him.”
Daniel’s face was pale. His mouth opened, but he made no sound.
“I’m sorry.” Wretched tears blurred Daniel’s image. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. I hope—” Her voice cracked as her hand fumbled for the latch behind her. She had to get out of here before she lost control. “I hope you and Alice have a wonderful life together.” Her fingers caught on the latch and she lifted it, then shoved through the door and dashed away from the cabin.
Pa called after her, but she lifted her skirts and increased her speed, heedless of the fabric catching and tearing on the scrub brush. If Pa chose to chase her, she’d never be able to outrun his long stride, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.
Darkness masked the mountains by the time Eliza returned to the cabins. She needed to go straight to Pa and Ysabel’s cabin and sleep.
Her feet took her to the Coopers’ yard.
Again, one horse stood in the rope corral. Had Daniel left as she’d told him to, or was he out searching for her?
Pa exited the Coopers’ cabin.
She gestured to the lone horse. “Is he gone?”
“Yes, Angel. I’m so sorry. I thought—”
“I know, Pa.” She held up her hand to stop his apology. He’d meant well. “I forgive you. You were trying to protect me. I know that, I just…I need some time to myself. Is it still all right for me to sleep in your cabin?”
“Of course. Ysabel and I will be along shortly.”
Alice leaned away from
Richard’s horrified stare. She lifted her chin. “What?”
“And you said nothing to Mr. Davidson when he returned for supper this evening? Just let him hurry through his meal and dash back out the door again in search of a niece whose whereabouts are clearly well-known by his own wife?” Richard’s increasing volume made her flinch. “You heard her threaten a man’s freedom because he’d dared to speak up for what was right, and you did nothing to stop her?”
Alice glanced toward the open door of the drawing room. “Hush!” she whispered. “Do you want her to overhear us?”
“Yes! I do.” If anything, Alice’s obstinate brother raised his voice still further.
“What would you have had me do?” Why couldn’t he be sensible? But no. It fell to her, as it always did, to be the sensible one. “You said yourself the position you acquired as a day laborer will only pay you enough to afford us accommodations in a seedy section of the city.”
“I said the neighborhood wasn’t as nice as here. It isn’t seedy. I promise you, you’ll be perfectly—”
“Well, I don’t want to just be safe and scraping by. If I’d wanted to live a simple life, I could have married Johnny when he asked me.”
“You were already engaged to Daniel.”
“Exactly. Daniel, whose skills as a craftsmen can provide me with a house I can be proud of and whose natural connections to the wealthiest of clientele might allow me, or at least our children, to move up in this world. I am not interested in settling, Richard.”
She sniffed and brushed imaginary dust from her skirt. “I must return to The States as soon as possible and marry Daniel. Mrs. Davidson’s offer to recommend me as a tutor for her friend’s children is my only hope of earning my fare quickly.” She shook her head. “Mr. and Mrs. Davidson’s private affairs are simply not my concern, and I won’t risk her good opinion of me by interfering where I am neither needed nor wanted.”
Richard stood and glowered down at her. “I doubt Mr. Davidson would see it that way. I should think he would be grateful for your interference.”
Waltz in the Wilderness Page 26