“Cinnamon,” Amanda answered when no one else did.
“Oh, right,” Rebecca said when they gave her curious glances.
She’d never been a fan of oats. The ladies in the orphanage made them thick and pasty and they’d only given them the smallest drizzle of honey to sweeten it. Spices were something they never used at the orphanage so curiosity made her eager to try this one.
They settled in to eat and Rebecca sprinkled in the cinnamon and honey and took a small taste. The flavor exploded on her tongue and she had to force herself to not shovel the oats into her mouth like she was starved. They were the best thing she’d eaten in years. She wasn’t sure if it was because it was hot or the fact she'd covered it in copious amounts of honey and the spice, but after living off stolen bread and the occasional wedge of cheese for so long, it tasted divine.
They ate in silence, not that she minded. She didn't know what to say to them anyway. When Caleb finished and stood, saying he would be late for work, he opened his mouth like he was going to say something to her but closed it before doing so. Agatha and Amanda saw him off. He looked back at her before stepping out the door and those butterflies taking up residence in her stomach did a somersault. That was new. She’d never met a man who caused a reaction like that with nothing more than a look. Maybe staying and playing the part of a doting housewife wouldn’t be such a hardship after all.
Agatha and Amanda disappeared down the hall when Caleb left, their dirty bowls still sitting on the table. She sat for long minutes staring at all the breakfast dishes and when neither Agatha nor Amanda returned, she sighed. “I guess the mess is yours to clean,” she said to herself before standing.
Maybe being a wife isn’t as grand an idea as I first thought.
A smile he couldn't hold back stayed on Caleb’s face the entire way to the livery stable. Diana being there to help around the house pleased him but this was the first morning he’d gone to work without already being tired. After cooking and cleaning and making sure everyone was good for the day, he'd walk across town feeling weary and run down. Today he wasn’t. Sure he’d still ended up cooking, but he hadn’t minded. Not today.
Diana had seemed so lost standing in his kitchen it was hard not to take pity on her and help with breakfast. She’d watched him light the stove as if she’d never seen it done before and looked at the bag of dry oats much the same way. He wondered then if she even knew how to cook.
With the inconsistencies—her saying she was tall and thin with brown hair—and her only standing five foot if even that, and her apparent confusion on how to fix the oats—he was betting she didn’t know the first thing about cooking, which begged the question, had she lied in her letter?
Maybe she was afraid no one would want her if she couldn’t cook.
That was probably true. Had he known, she would have been the last of the ladies in the advert he’d have picked. He’d needed a wife for very specific things and cooking was one of them. Had he known Diana couldn’t cook—assuming she indeed didn’t know how—he would have never picked her and what a mistake that would have been. Cooking skills or not, she was a welcome sight. One look into her violet eyes and he found it hard to breathe.
The other things that were different from her letter were still puzzling. He’d thought about them as he laid down the night before and fell asleep wondering if he should question her about them. Fear she’d be so offended she’d leave held his tongue this morning, though. The small inconsistencies didn’t really matter. As long as she could teach Amanda how to become a proper young lady and help shoulder some of his daily burdens, then he could overlook the other stuff.
Willie was climbing down from the loft when he closed the livery stable door behind him to block out the frigid blast of cold air chasing him inside. It was still dark inside the barn, the sun not up high enough yet to shine into the chinks in the boards and light the interior.
He headed through the stable, looking into the stalls as he passed them, pausing every so often to speak a soft word to the horses Willie boarded for the residents in town.
“Morning, Caleb.”
“Morning,” he said without lifting his head. “Anything pressing on the agenda today?”
“Lester Edmonds came round late yesterday evening. He has a horse out at his place that needs some hoof work. He said he didn't think the animal could make it to town with the way it looked. Any objections to heading out and taking care of it for me? You’re a better farrier than I can even pretend to be.”
Caleb smiled at the compliment despite not knowing whether Willie truly meant it or if he was just trying to get out of heading across the prairie. Not that it mattered. A nice, uncomplicated day was just what he needed. “Yeah, I can head out after the sun’s up over the mountain.”
“Good. So, how’s the Misses this morning?”
Willie was sporting a wide grin when he looked over at him. “She’s fine, although she’s not the Misses yet.”
“When’s that gonna happen?”
“I’m not sure.” He grabbed the watering buckets and headed for the back door of the barn. “Our agreement was we’d wait until the new year to make sure it's what she wanted so…” He shrugged. “I haven’t given it much thought yet.”
“You going to send her packing?”
“No.”
“Think she’ll high-tail it out of here, then?”
I hope not. “It’s hard to say.”
Willie’s question stayed on his mind most of the day and turned his good mood sour. What if Diana did decide to leave? Amanda would be heartbroken. He would too, truth be told. As much as he’d been dreading her arrival, it would be a shame not to get to know more about her.
She has no reason to leave. Stop over-thinking things.
He pushed the thought away. He’d drive himself crazy if he didn’t stop thinking about it. It’s only the first day. It's too soon for her to decide anything right now, wasn’t it? He hoped so because Diana leaving was the last thing he wanted.
Chapter 5
Pack your bags and run. Fast. Leave before you get too used to a warm place to stay.
The words echoed through Rebecca’s head as she stared into the dark recess of the root cellar. Going down there would make her horrible day complete.
Exhaustion made her limbs shaky, and it was only early afternoon. Agatha had run her ragged showing her what chores she needed to do and between all the cleaning and helping the woman—who she now knew was completely crippled—do something as basic as relieve herself without soiling her clothing, running away was becoming more appealing by the minute. If it weren’t for the fact she’d have to steal money from Caleb to get away—assuming he had any—she’d seriously contemplate it, especially now that she had to venture into the cellar and grab things to start supper, a meal Agatha expected her to fix. The very thought of it made her want to leave.
She sucked in a deep breath and held the lamp high as she took the first step down. Those shivers racing up her spine caused goosebumps to prickle her flesh. The smell of damp earth filled her nose as she continued down and when her feet were on solid ground again, the hair on the back of her neck was standing on end.