Chapter 39
Rosalind scanned the sun-bleached hills and golden fields as the buggy carried them farther and farther from town.
The road curved gently between pastures edged with live oaks and barbed wire, while the wind stirred the tall grass.
She’d never been to Texas before, but it seemed peaceful, like the type of place a person could come and enjoy the feel of sun on their face or lie down for a lazy nap beneath a tree.
They’d left the little town of Belton nearly twenty minutes ago. Yuri had rented a buggy from the livery after the stagecoach had arrived in town. But she hadn’t expected the Commonwealth to be this far outside of town.
“Don’t be nervous, Ros. I’ve exchanged several letters with Mrs. McWhirter. You’re going to like it here.” Yuri reached out and settled his hand over hers.
It was a simple touch, but it still felt entirely too nice.
There’d been precious few touches on the train ride from Washington, DC, to Waco, and just as few on the stagecoach ride from Waco to Belton.
It almost made her wish for the days when her ribs were so injured she could barely breathe.
Yuri hadn’t thought twice about touching her then, but he was being much more circumspect about things now.
It wasn’t that Yuri had been cold toward her on the trip, exactly, but there was certainly a distance between them that hadn’t been there on their trip to Washington or during their stay in the city.
Which was ridiculous, because it shouldn’t be possible to miss a person she was constantly with.
Yet it seemed like the gulf between them widened with each passing day.
A windmill creaked up ahead, and a pair of cattle lifted their heads as the buggy rolled past. They passed a clothesline next, and Rosalind could see glimpses of a white clapboard house set back from the road.
It was likely situated by a creek, given the trees and other vegetation that grew near it.
The driveway to the house soon came into view. She licked her lips. “Is this the Commonwealth?”
“Yes. What do you think?” Yuri nodded toward the house and field that spread beyond it.
She looked around. There were several women moving about the property.
One was hauling a basket toward steps on the side of the house, another was tending a garden tucked neatly beside a low fence, and a third drew water from the well beneath the windmill.
Children played in a patch of shade near the clapboard house, their laughter mingling with the cluck of chickens pecking in the dust.
Beyond the main house, more buildings came into view—long, low structures with tin roofs, a small barn, a shed, and a laundry yard strung with fresh linens fluttering in the sun. A series of fences framed everything from animal pens to fields.
Something about it still felt familiar, almost like this place was a memory she couldn’t quite catch. “It seems pleasant,” she finally answered. “Like a nice place to live.”
Yuri sent her a lopsided smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “See? I knew you’d like it.”
She did like it. She just wasn’t sure that she liked it more than she’d like spending her future with Yuri. But that wasn’t an option they had at the moment, and from everything she could see about the Commonwealth, it seemed like a wonderful place to live until her father was in prison.
Yuri slowed the buggy, and the front door to the house opened to reveal a portly woman with a wide smile.
“Miss Caldwell, is that you?”
“Mrs. McWhirter?”
“Yes, I’m Martha McWhirter.” The woman came down the steps to stand beside the buggy. “Founder and proprietress of the Woman’s Commonwealth. I want to start by thanking you for your generous donations to our organization all these years.”
“Oh, you’re welcome, but I’m actually Mrs.—”
“She’s still Miss Caldwell.” Yuri cut her off, then hopped down from the buggy and came around the back of it to greet Mrs. McWhirter.
The woman watched Yuri’s movement’s with narrowed eyes, almost as though she distrusted something about him wanting to greet her.
“I’ve explained the rules to you by letter, Mr. Amos.
No men are allowed on the property. If you’ll kindly empty Miss Caldwell’s things from the wagon and deposit them here, the women and I are perfectly capable of seeing they are delivered to her room. ”
Yuri wasn’t allowed on the property? At all? Rosalind’s eyebrows winged up.
But Yuri was already nodding his head at Mrs. McWhirter, clearly unsurprised by her instructions. “Of course. Just give me a minute.”
He climbed into the back of the wagon and slid her trunks to the edge, then grabbed the smaller suitcase she’d carried with her on the train. Rosalind used the time to climb down from the wagon, careful not to do anything that might aggravate her ribs.
She would have stepped to the back of the wagon next to pick up her suitcase, but Mrs. McWhirter reached out and gripped her hand.
“I want to thank you again for your donations. We’ve been able to finish the new dormitory so every woman has her own room.
The windmill you paid for last year keeps our laundry yard supplied with water, and we’ve added more troughs and clotheslines so we can take in work from Belton.
We used some of your funds to purchase barbed wire too, so we now have enough fencing to keep the entire property fenced in, plus have pens for all the livestock. ”
She smiled. “I’m so glad to hear it. I can’t wait to see everything for myself.”
The portly woman smiled right back at her. “I’m more than happy to give you a tour.”
“Here’s the last of everything.” Yuri set the final trunk on the ground, then glanced up at the white clapboard house. “Are you sure you don’t want help taking her trunks to her room?”
Mrs. McWhirter bristled. “Quite sure. Thank you.”
He cut his gaze away from the other woman and took a step closer to Rosalind. “How are your ribs?”
“They’re all right.” She pressed a hand to the worst of her injuries. It still wasn’t fully healed, but it was getting better every day.
He handed her smallest suitcase to Mrs. McWhirter. “She’ll need some extra tending until her fractures heal fully. The doctors say it should be at least two more weeks of rest and binding, but she might need longer.”
“We’re careful with all of our women, Mr. Amos.” Mrs. McWhirter took the suitcase, her voice clipped. “Now if you’ll kindly vacate our premises. You’re making some of our residents nervous.”
Once again, Rosalind felt her brows pinch. She looked around the property, which now held even more women, many of them trying to look busy while pretending not to watch them.
She might not have met the women yet, but she wanted to call out that they had no reason to be nervous around Yuri. He was the kindest, most gentle man she’d ever known.
But Yuri didn’t defend himself. He merely stepped back from the luggage, wiped his hands on his trousers, and nodded once more.
It shouldn’t have hurt, the way he stood there silently, so close and yet so distant, but it did.
His gaze finally drifted to her, and he gave her a small nod. “Good-bye, Ros.”
“Wait.” She rushed to his side before he could climb onto the wagon. He didn’t intend to say good-bye to her like this, did he? Without so much as even a hug? “Where are you going? You’re not headed back to San Francisco yet, are you?”
“The stage comes twice a week. I’ll be at the boarding house for two more days.”
Her throat turned dry. “What if I don’t want you to leave?”
He shook his head. “You know that’s not possible.”
“And the annulment?”
“I doubt there’s a telegraph line that runs to Belton, but there should be one in Waco. I’ll send a telegram from there when I travel through on my way to San Francisco. The papers should get filed sometime next week.”
It all felt so final. She couldn’t stand the thought of saying good-bye, not to the one man she’d been able to trust back in Sitka, not to the man who’d taken time to see her as more than just the daughter of the richest person in town.
Not to the man who’d crawled into bed with her and held her tight for nearly three weeks.
She couldn’t say good-bye to him. Not yet. Not like this. She reached out and fisted a hand in his shirt. “Will you come back? To say good-bye at least?”
He pressed his eyes shut. “Rosalind . . .”
“Please, Yuri.” She took a step closer, near enough that she could smell the scent of sunshine and dust on his skin. She could feel Mrs. McWhirter’s glare boring into her back, but she didn’t care. “You said that we could still be together after my father is in prison, remember?”
He opened his eyes, and the gaze he sent her was so very familiar, filled with softness and tenderness that she wanted to wrap herself in. “If that’s what you want, then yes.”
“What if I don’t want to say good-bye just yet? Will you come back again before you leave? Please?”
“Oh, I nearly forgot.” Mrs. McWhirter patted her pocket, then pulled out an envelope. “This came for you yesterday, Mr. Amos. I assume whoever sent it knew you’d be stopping here.”
Yuri took the envelope but didn’t bother to look at it. He merely thanked Mrs. McWhirter and slid it into his pocket, then turned back to her. His eyes searched her face for one long moment, but he didn’t reach out to touch her. “Good-bye, Ros.”
He climbed into the buggy, flicked the reins, and turned the team toward the gate.
Rosalind stood there, an ache forming in her chest as she watched the dust rise behind him.
It wasn’t until he’d turned off the drive and was making his way down the road that she realized he’d never given her an answer about coming back to say good-bye a final time.